


Secret Santa

by Yemi Hikari (Yemi_Hikari)



Series: Silver Foxes, Fire Cats and Snowflakes [16]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Presents, Depression, Drama, F/M, Family, Gen, Gin & Toushirou - Father/Son (Biological), Momo being Momo, Presents, Rangiku & Toushirou - Mother/Son (Biological), Stress Relief, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Watch, Suspense
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2011-12-02
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:28:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 29
Words: 34,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25026964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yemi_Hikari/pseuds/Yemi%20Hikari
Summary: For some strange reason, someone is giving Toshiro secret gifts during the Christmas time.
Relationships: Hitsugaya Toushirou & Ichimaru Gin, Hitsugaya Toushirou & Matsumoto Rangiku, Hitsugaya Toushirou & Ukitake Juushirou, Ichimaru Gin/Matsumoto Rangiku
Series: Silver Foxes, Fire Cats and Snowflakes [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1849033
Comments: 10
Kudos: 14
Collections: Bleach: Toushirou's Parents Are..., Platonic Relationships





	1. Day One

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer - I don't own Bleach.

The cold weather began to nip at the windows of the tenth division, as the small taicho walked through the wooden hallways, tugging his haori to hug tighter on his shoulders. His body shivered slightly, despite the fact that his zampaktuo was aligned to coldness, for despite this fact, his small body was not built the same as the ice dragon.

His breath came out in a misty puff, and finally he got to the tenth division offices, where he opened up the door to be greeted by the warmth of the room. Quickly, he closed the door, his cheeks reddening as the blood rushed back in. With light steps he began to walk over to his desk.

Two teal eyes took the chance to glance over at Matsumoto Rangiku, pausing as he did so. The woman was actually leaning over her desk, looking through various papers. The boy sat down at his desk, wondering how many pieces of paper he would be having to complete himself, only to suddenly glance down at his desk.

A package was sitting on the matt, the paper a metallic green color and the red ribbon curled at the top. An envelope was sitting next to the package, and he picked up the envelope, a look of confusion spreading on his face. The envelope was addressed simply as this … _To Hitsugaya Toshiro …From a Secret Santa._

Glancing back up at the busty female, the small voice spoke up. "Matsumoto, do you know anything about this?"

Her pale blue eyes glanced up suddenly. "I didn't notice that there was something on your desk when I came in."

"Are you _positive_ you don't know anything about this?" The boy frowned at her, and then shook his head, opening up the envelope. He read the inner contents of the envelope. " _This is a Christmas present for you. Unlike other Christmas presents, you are supposed to open a Secret Santa present when you get it._ "

"I don't know anything about what is on your desk. Maybe you have a secret admirer." Rangiku let out a chuckle, amusement playing over her face.

Toshiro's face suddenly twisted up. "Rangiku, is that what Secret Santa is about? If it is about some girl trying to flirt with me, I don't want anything to do with it."

Matsumoto's eyes suddenly went wide and she stood up, moving over to the small taicho's desk. She leaned over his shoulders and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "Secret Santa could be from anyone you know actually. It doesn't have to be from a secret admirer."

"It isn't from you then?" The boy shook his head, confusion written all over his face.

"Well…" Rangiku paused for a few minutes. "The point of a Secret Santa is that you aren't supposed to know who it is that is giving you the gift. You are supposed to guess, but not know until the person reveals it to you." There was another pause of silence. "Also, I am not your Secret Santa. I wish I had come up with the idea to do this though."

Toshiro frowned, picking up the package, wondering what he was supposed to do. The female let out a deep sigh, then spoke up. "You're supposed to open the present now, you know."

Two small, nimble hands began to unwrap the package, and then deftly removed the item, his eyes suddenly going wide upon seeing the wooden object. His mouth opened slightly. "A wooden puzzle…"

"Ehh…" Matsumoto glanced at the puzzle. "I see that as something you would like."

"I don't understand why anyone would want to give me a gift. I don't think anyone should be spending their hard earned money on me like this." The boy muttered, leaning forward, his cheek in hand while he twisted the puzzle about.

"The puzzle toy is something that likely didn't cost much… but chances are you'll likely receive a few more gifts until Christmas time." Rangiku smiled, her hair tickling his face as he suddenly sat straight up again.

"But…" A horrified look was on his face. "I don't think…"

"Taicho. Who ever is giving you this gift honestly thinks that you are worth going to this much trouble for. It isn't a bad thing… though I can understand why you are confused about the whole thing."


	2. Day Two

When Nanao arrived in the eighth division office, she walked over to her desk not daring to give her lazy taicho a single glance. However, when she got to her desk, she saw an envelope sitting upon her desk, which she picked up and opened, curiosity lighting on her features.

 _To Ise Nanao,_  
~ I have a special request that I can't do myself, because I can't reveal my identity to the Hitsugaya Toshiro. As you may well know, his fukutaicho, Matsumoto Rangiku has a knack of slacking off on her work. For today's gift, I would very much appreciate if you would give him a hand with the paperwork.  
~ From a Secret Santa

This caused the female to pause. She pushed up her glasses, wondering what the whole thing really was about. She glanced over at the man who slumped at his desk. "Taicho… do you know anything about this?"

"…that envelope? Jushiro dropped it off." The man stated, not taking the chance to glance up at her. "Of course, that doesn't mean that he's the sender. For all you know, he was delivering it for someone else."

"I take it that the two of you aren't going to tell me what is going on here?" Nanao let out a deep sigh, before gathering up her things to head over to the tenth division. When she got there, she saw the small taicho sitting at his desk, messing with a wooden puzzle, his actions rather nervous.

Upon her entering the building, the boy jumped up, the wooden puzzle rolling across his desk and hitting the floor. Ise stepped over and picked up the toy and then handed it to the boy, who gladly took it, his teal eyes lighting up. He glanced down at the puzzle rather quickly, not looking her in the face, though that was normal for him.

"If you are looking for Rangiku, she doesn't get to the office this early… ever." Toshiro paused for a few minutes. "At least, not ever that I can remember."

"I'm actually not here because I need to speak to her." Ise then spoke up. "Someone has been…"

When she paused, trying to think how to handle the situation, Hitsugaya glanced up at her. "If one of my division members has been bothering your division members, or anyone from the women's society, just tell me. I'll deal with it as soon as possible. That is a promise."

"Actually, that isn't it either." Nanao bit her lip, then took a look at the wooden puzzle, not sure how to deal with this particular precocious child. "Is that toy new?"

This caused the boy to pause, almost flinch at the word toy. "It is a _puzzle_."

"I can tell that. That's one of those toys that are fun for children and adults alike. It helps to relieve stress." The female stated.

"Or frustrate people, depending on their intelligence level." Toshiro set the wooden cube down onto the desk. "I actually was given the wooden cube yesterday. It was…"

The pause was followed by the child's cheeks flushing slightly red. Nanao watched him carefully, and then spoke up. "A Secret Santa?"

"Rangiku told you?" The boy let out a deep sigh and leaned back in his chair. "She didn't happen to tell you to come and tell me it isn't that big of a deal, did she? I personally think it is a big deal. I mean, she said _there_ is likely going to be more gifts."

"Actually… she didn't tell me." Nanao placed her hand to her mouth, letting out a deep cough. "I actually got a message from your Secret Santa." She watched as the boy stared at the female dumbfounded. "The person asked if I could come in and do some of the division's paperwork, since Rangiku tends to slack off like she did."

The child had been calming down, despite the situation, but found his cheeks flushing up again. "I _can't_ let you do that! That…" A frown plastered on his face. "I feel like I would be taking advantage of the situation. I mean…"

"I'm putting my foot down on this one, Hitsugaya Taicho." Nanao walked over to Rangiku's desk, picking up some of the papers that had already been delivered. "You won't be owing me anything."

"But… this person roped you into doing this, without asking if you wanted to do this." The boy frowned, still protesting the situation.

"I think the person who asked me to do this, knew that I would just go ahead and do it." Ise pushed her glasses up, just as the boy's jaw dropped. "I would have felt guilty if you hadn't gotten today's gift, particularly if this person plans on doing this daily for you. I also _like_ the idea and I think someone should have thought to do this for you sooner."

"Is… the Secret Santa your taicho… or Ukitake Taicho?" The boy frowned at the woman.

At this, she glanced up, pushing up her glasses again. "Actually… I honestly don't know anything beyond the fact that they are likely in on this too. I can't think really of anyone else, other then Rangiku who would do this."

"I see." The boy then stood up and walked up the desk she was sitting at and bowed his head slightly. "Thank you for helping today."

Ise's jaw dropped suddenly, as she watched the boy go back to his desk.


	3. Day Three

The small taicho sat at his desk, his mood rather light due to the fact he hadn't as much work the day before as he normally had. Ise Nanao picking up some of the work load allowed him to finish early. It allowed him to be able to take a nap early on in the day. Of course, the whole taking a nap thing an requesting to be waken up in an hour or too, or when something very important came up.

However, the whole Secret Santa thing was on his mind, and he came in early, hoping to catch whoever it was. " _I don't understand this whole concept. If I am getting gifts, shouldn't I at least be giving some sort of gift back to the person?_ "

" _You don't know who the person you are to give a gift to is, so how would you know what to get them? I am sure there is something you can come up with when this is all said and done to thank them for their kindness._ " Hyorinmaru hummed as he laughed at the child's train of thought.

Rangiku got to the office before the Secret Santa gift was delivered and she walked over to her desk and sat down in her chair. "You seem to be in a good mood today, taicho."

"I really appreciate the fact that Ise came and helped with the paperwork. I had a very relaxing day yesterday." Hitsugaya suddenly piped up, looking her straight in the eye with his own bright teal ones. "It honestly wouldn't hurt you, if you helped with the paperwork and other things around the division. I would very much appreciate it." The child taicho suddenly paused, his face twisting up as if he thought of something that bothered him.

The busty female noted the expression on his face. She leaned back in the chair with her own frown on her face. "Let's say I wasn't a lazy person. Where do you think I would be?"

"I think you would already be captain rank, as you would have learned Bankai by now." The boy commented, not really thinking about what he said.

"I figured you would say something along those lines." Rangiku let out a deep sigh. "I _don't_ want a captaincy position. Please understand that it isn't because I don't find myself capable of the task, or I don't think I would deserve the position, or I would dislike the work. I just _don't_ want the position."

Two bright teal eyes suddenly blinked a couple of times. "You are lucky then. I didn't want the position either."

"I think the situation is different though." The busty female suddenly found herself leaning forward, watching as the small boy's face twisted up in confusion. "You never wanted to become a shinigami. I had no problems becoming one. I also really don't have a problem with becoming a captain either. At this point though, I have my reasons for not wanting to become one."

Toshiro simply looked at the woman, not blinking. That was until another division member popped into the room, holding a wrapped package. "I am not sure what to do with this, but I found this package sitting at one of the entrances, and it says it is for you, Hitsugaya Taicho."

"Did you see who could have dropped it off?" Hitsugaya asked, standing up from his seat to take the present from the man.

'Taicho, that's cheating." Rangiku piped up, shaking her head at the small boy.

"I thought I saw Ukitake Taicho, but I could have been mistaken." The man stated, making a quick bow and leaving.

Two small hands proceeded to unwrap the present, which was wrapped this time in a red paper with Christmas trees on it. The ribbon was a gold color, done in a simple bow. When he opened the package, he found that it was a book, entitles _Oliver Twist_. The two small hands opened up the book, to read what was written in the inside cover.

_I picked this book out for you, because I think you can relate to Oliver's situation, as you've gone through a similar situation yourself. I know that the book is used, and worn around the edges, but it is important to me, for you to have this particular copy of this book. ~ Your Secret Santa_

Suddenly, Rangiku was looking over the boy's shoulder. "That book…"

"It is the latest Secret Santa gift." Toshiro shrugged his shoulders. "I like this one, because it doesn't seem like the person spent any money on me, and they aren't obligating themselves or anyone else to duties of helping me."

"Well, now I know _exactly_ what to get you for your birthday and Christmas." The busty female's tone was rather dark.

The boy glanced up, confusion written all over his face. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No… I…" Matsumoto paused for a few minutes. "I need to go talk to someone. I'll be back."

"What about the paper work?" Toshiro protested, his eyes going wide with frustration.

"I'll be right back and I'll work on it."

"Sure…"


	4. Day Four

There was one definite fact about the Secret Santa. Someone was purposefully trying to deliver the presents so that Toshiro wouldn't see who was delivering them, at least to the best of their ability. When the small taicho came to this conclusion, he decided no to worry about coming into the office super early to try to catch the person. Chances are, Rangiku would argue that had also been cheating.

The boy came in and found a bundle in red cyran wrap, tied with a green cord, with jingle bells attached. There was simply a tag, saying that it was the Secret Santa gift, and he quickly opened it up, to see what was inside. In the package was a bunch of hard candies, and he popped one into his mouth, tasting the watermelon flavor.

Matsumoto came into the office later as always, to which the boy piped up. "You said that you would be back to do paperwork yesterday. You never came back."

"I'm sorry taicho. I just found out…" The female paused for a few minutes. "Did you know that Gin is actually alive and in the fourth division?"

Toshiro nearly chocked on the piece of candy that was in his mouth. His small hand beat hard against his chest. "Are you kidding me?" The look on her face said that she wasn't playing a joke. Carefully, he stepped over to her, his small feet making no sound on the wooden floor. "Would you like one Matsumoto? It might cheer you up."

"Is that your Secret Santa gift?" Rangiku glanced at it, her mood not changing at all.

"Yes. It is watermelon candy." The boy looked at her, a great deal of concern on his face. "Is something wrong? How did you know he was alive?"

"I just… got a feeling." The woman stated. She then closed his hands around the package. "While I do appreciate the offer, I am not exactly in the mood. That also said, it is your Secret Santa gift. You should enjoy it." Suddenly, a smile spread on her face. "You know what taicho. Go ahead and take the day off."

"There is still paperwork to be done." Two teal eyes glowered at her.

The woman let out a deep laugh. "Believe me …I'll get the work done. I really need something to get my mind off my problems, and while sake has the knack of doing that, it also makes it hard to think things through. If you're here, I am likely to bite off your head with some sort of rude comment. You are the last person I want to hurt the feelings of right now."

Hitsugaya let out a deep sigh. "If you insist that I leave, I'll leave."

The boy then stepped out of the room, closing the door to the office, hoping full well that this wouldn't come back and be a problem later on. He then headed towards the thirteenth division, his mind stuck on the fact that the Secret Santa was likely Ukitake. It didn't take him long to flash step over there.

When he got there, he found himself greeted by the two third seats, much to his dismay. Despite their antics, they let him in to see the older gentleman, and the boy slipped into a kneeling position beside the man's bed. The words, "You can't tell him," was heard from the female, and the word "Even we don't know what is going on," came from the male.

The small taicho sat down, then pushed the watermelon candies forward. "Do you want one?"

Jushiro simply looked down, his eyes showing quite a bit of shock. "Isn't that… your Secret Santa gift?"

"So… you know about the whole Secret Santa thing too?" Toshiro's eyes suddenly became wide with curiosity. "It wouldn't happen to be you would it?"

"Actually…" The man took a deep breath. "Aren't I the rather obvious answer to that question? I mean, I love giving you gifts and all and would love to do something like this for you, but I think the fact that I am obvious would have simply ruined the fun for the both of us."

"But… you do have an idea of who the person is?" The boy stated, pushing the candy a little farther.

Ukitake let out a deep sigh. "I know who the person is… and I have been delivering for that person… under the request of another person. However, I honestly can't tell you who the person is. That would really ruin everything, wouldn't it? I mean, Secret Santa is supposed to be a puzzle. You like puzzles don't you Shiro-chan."

Hitsugaya refused to answer, and simply pushed the candies forward again. "Do you want one?"

"They are your Secret Santa gift." The man protested, watching the boy carefully.

"Rangiku kicked me out of the office." Toshiro sighed. "Plus, you're always giving me candies, and I thought when you're given sweets, you're actually supposed to share the gift. _And_ I thought hard candies were good for when you had a cough."

The white haired man let out a laugh and held out his hand, in which the small boy with similar hair color placed a few candies. "I can't exactly argue against that logic, can I."


	5. Day Five

Toshiro woke up on the fifth of December in a rather good mood. While Ukitake had told him the day before that he wasn't the Secret Santa, he found himself unable to be sure if this was the truth. He wouldn't put it past Ukitake to tell a white lie for a good reason. Still, he found himself not wanting to try and find out who the person was at this point. Perhaps it had to do with the fact he couldn't think of many people.

Upon arriving in the office, he found that Matsumoto was nowhere in site, but he pretty much expected her to not have shown up, as she hat a penchant of avoiding the work. However, as his small footsteps hit the wooden floor, he ran his hand over his empty desk. Glancing over at Rangiku's, it was also empty, meaning she kept up her end of the bargain the day before.

Instead of working in the offices, he headed out to the different areas of the tenth division, inspecting different places and watching the shinigami work. After a couple of hours, he headed back to the office to find only a few papers on his desk. As he was working on them, Ukitake made an appearance and placed a box on the desk. "Since I was found to be the deliver, I decided to just drop off the packages."

"Thank you." Two teal eyes suddenly brightened, reaching out for the small paper gift box and he cracked it open.

"I'm rather glad you are having a good time with this." The older taicho smiled at the youth. A small had removed the stuffing and then dumped the wooden object out. It was a top, and Toshiro maneuvered the object in his hand, a smile spreading across his face. "I didn't know you liked tops."

"I was always good at spinning tops. Nobody in the village was able to beat me." The boy frowned at that point. "It was really the only thing I ever got to do with the other children." Hitsugaya then looked up at Jushiro. "You didn't know that I liked tops?"

"I told you I'm not the Secret Santa." Ukitake shook his head, finding great mirth as the boy glanced at the letter.

" _Thought you would like this._ "The words came out loud, and then Toshiro glanced up. "The person who is my Secret Santa must be someone very close who knows me... but I can't see Momo doing something like this. She's still... not speaking to me."

"Still? If you want, I can try talking to her about this behavior of hers." The older male frowned, concerned that the two siblings were having such problems.

"I'd like to try and take care of the problems between her and me by myself." Toshiro stood up, and then he headed to the door. "I'll be taking my leave. I am going to find Matsumoto in order to thank her for actually doing her work today."

**M**

Finding Matsumoto Rangiku was only easy when the she happened to be in her quarters. By the time Hitsugaya got the information that she was at the forth division visiting Ichimaru Gin, it was in the afternoon. What he didn't understand, was if she was so angry with the man, why she would spend so much time near him.

His small feet took him to where one of the forth division members had told him the silver haired man was located. The child kept his reiatsu in check, a smirk on his face as he thought about sneaking up on the woman and startling her, if she wasn't watching the door way. For some reason, the whole Secret Santa business was putting him in a good mood.

As he turned around the corner of the doorway, he saw Rangiku sitting in a chair, watching the window area. In that area, Ichimaru Gin was sitting, looking out the window as if nothing was going on. As Toshiro stepped into the room, the woman decided to speak up again. "Gin, I've asked you before, I want to know why you're doing all this."

This caused Toshiro to frown, as his foot suddenly went and squeaked on the floor, causing Rangiku to glance up, her eyes filled with shock. The silver haired man glanced up, his pale teal eyes turning to look at the small taicho. The man's mouth twisted up into a smirk, one that was different from what he usually did. "I don't think I am obligated to tell you why, Ran-chan."

The female's face paled, and then she got up and walked over to the small child. "Taicho, what are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you. I wanted to thank you for finishing the paperwork like you promised yesterday." The boy glanced around the woman, to see that Ichimaru was still looking straight at him. "You haven't been discharged from the forth division?"

"My injuries have healed, but Unohana Taicho is worried about my mental stability." Gin suddenly turned his whole body so that he was looking at the two standing there.

"Matsumoto wouldn't happen to be mad at you because you went with Aizen?" The boy' question came quick, only to receive a quick no from both.

"Ichimaru is... he's been..." Rangiku paused, looking at the male.

The man let out a sigh. "The forty-six has pardoned me, because I played double spy."

"Then you're mad at him for putting his life in danger?" Toshiro's face twisted up in confusion.

"No..." The female decided to change the subject then. "Taicho... have you gotten your Secret Santa gift today?"

A small hand suddenly reached into the sleeve of his robe, while Gin lifted an eyebrow. The boy held the top in his hand. "Who ever has been doing this knows me pretty well, but the only people I can think of who know me well enough and would care enough to do something like this is you, Matsumoto, and Ukitake. However... both of you have said it isn't you."

"Can I see what you got?" Ichimaru piped up. Toshiro walked over, not noticing the frustrated look on Rangiku's face and let the man hold the top in his hand. "Ehh... are you going to go find someone to play a game with?"

"I don't have time to play tops anymore." The boy let out a deep sigh. "And even if I did.. this one is going isn't going to be used. Who ever got it, spent quite a bit of time picking it out. There is a nice feeling to the object, something familiar about it." There came a sudden frown. "Of course, the person could have made it, rather then buying it. I think I actually prefer that."

"Apparently Taicho has been preferring the used gifts and the things that doesn't cost much money." Rangiku's tone was dark. "Taicho... I really need to talk to Gin about something."

A deep sigh was let out. "Fine. But Matsumoto... if he doesn't want to talk, he'll not talk to you. You should know that by now."


	6. Day Six

"If I had know... I would never have... I mean, I might still have..." The voice of Ise Nanao reached the small ears of the taicho of the tenth division as he came back from his break. He stepped into the room, to see his fukutaicho and the one belonging to the eighth division in a deep conversation.

"Are you all right, Ise?" The small taicho walked over to his desk, noticing that Ukitake had been there while he was gone, or one of his third seats had been there.

"I..." The female paused, glancing up at the male child. She turned her head back to Rangiku. "Are you sure you are all right with this going on?"

"As long as it doesn't effect taicho in a negative manner, I don't think I should put my foot down." Rangiku stated. She then glanced over at the child that was staring at her. "Don't worry about it, taicho. It isn't a big deal. At least, not at this point."

The boy shook his head, and then picked up the package. The object was wrapped in a white paper with candy canes. When he opened it up, he found a sketch pad in his hands. He blinked a couple of times, thinking that the pad was rather on the large side of things, not to mention the paper felt like it was of a good quality.

"What exactly do you need a drawing pad for? I thought you were just interested in ice sculptures." Nanao raised an eyebrow at the boy.

Two teal eyes glanced up at her in surprise. "I only did the ice sculptures because I was expected as a captain to turn an article into the newspaper. They aren't that good."

Ise's jaw dropped, but Rangiku simply shook her head, her lips pushed tightly together. She then turned her head to her small taicho. "I've finished up my work. I am going to go speak with Nanao some more about this so I don't bother you with the conversation. Do you need anything taicho?"

"No..." The boy picked up one of the papers on his desk, the only thing that needed to be done to sign the paper.

"I don't understand." Ise's whisper reached his ears despite the fact she hadn't intended him to hear. "His ice sculptures are beautiful."

Toshiro's head darted up in surprise, but the two women were already gone. He went back to what he was doing, when soft footsteps came towards him. "Shiro-chan?"

"I thought you weren't speaking to me, Hinamori." The boy glanced up at the girl.

"I had something to deliver. I didn't really want to come." The female stated, her tone rather dark.

"You could have sent another member of your division."

The small female's mouth opened, and then she shut it. Glancing at the desk, she found something to change the subject on. "What is the sketchpad for? I tried getting you into drawing for a long time."

"That? That was a gift from someone. Someone has been playing Secret Santa with me." The boy set his brush down. " _It can't be Hinamori... I mean, she wouldn't use this kind of tactic with me._ "

"So you're still not interested in drawing, are you." Momo's voice was one tone.

"I'm not anywhere near as good as you." The boy stared at her, confused why she was even here.

"You aren't anywhere near as good as me?" The girl snapped the last few words out. "You're better then me at _everything_! I don't get why you can't just admit the fact that you are absolutely perfect. Unlike me, you can't do _anything_ wrong, which is why people are still speaking to you."

"Hinamori, you're the one not speaking to people."

"I don't know what you're talking about." The girl glared at him. "I have other things to deliver. Good day."


	7. Day Seven

The small taicho of the tenth division woke up and saw a small shimmer of light coming through the crack in the door. His body didn't feel like moving as his mind focused in on the conversation he and Momo had the day before. " _That was the first time since the Aizen incident that she spoke to me. Why did it have to end up like this?_ "

" _Aren't you going to get up young master?_ " The dragon hummed in his ear. " _Aren't you looking forward to whatever present your Secret Santa is going to give you today?_ "

" _I wish whoever it is would do something about the situation between me and Momo._ " The small taicho let out a deep sigh before heaving his body up off the bed and getting dressed. " _I should try and figure out what to do about the situation between Momo and me on my own. That said, I doubt Momo will come around again today. She's been avoiding me and she said the only reason she came yesterday was business._ "

He opened the door and headed to the office, his step coming heavy. Upon going through the door to his office, he found himself freezing in the doorway. "Hinamori? What are you doing here?"

The small female glanced up. Her eyes were calm compared to how they were yesterday, but Momo didn't at first make a move to say anything. And then when she did, it was that dreaded word. "Shiro-chan?"

"Would you please stop calling me _that_?" Letting out a deep sigh he headed over to his desk, flopping down in the chair in frustration. "If you don't have any business here you should just leave."

"Now that is rude!" Momo's fists suddenly clenched at her sides. "I wanted to see what this Secret Santa person gave you today!"

"It is none of your business Hinamori. I don't have time for this." Toshiro sat up, his teal eyes looking straight at her. " _Why am I being this way? I've never tried standing up in the slightest to her before._ "

"I don't like the fact some stranger is giving you gifts!" The small female's voice chided.

"The person obviously knows me as all of the gifts have been spot on."

"Shiro-chan, haven't you ever heard of a stalker?"

Momo's comment caused Toshiro to freeze up for a few minutes. He then reached up without realizing to scratch his head. "Ukitake is helping the person, so I don't think so."

"Yet you can't confirm for certain." Momo's words snapped out.

The boy folded his arms across his chest. "I can take care of myself."

"No you can't."

"What did you say?" Toshiro felt one of his eyebrow's suddenly twitch. "Did you just tell me I can't take care of myself? I've been in quite a few fights before Hinamori."

Ukitake managed to stick his head in through the door at that point in time. "Good morning Shiro-chan, Momo-chan!"

The girl's cheeks suddenly puffed up in irritation. "How come he gets to call you Shiro-chan and I don't."

Without noticing that his words were slipping out, Toshiro spoke up rather truthfully. "Because we're both Shiro-chans."

"What?" Momo blinked a couple of times, frowning at the small taicho.

"We both have white hair and Shiro in our names. It is like an inside joke between the two of us." Ukitake smiled at the small female. "Plus, there is also a major age gap between the two of us."

Momo turned around and glared at the small taicho. "There is an age gap between the two of us you know."

Toshiro felt the corner of his mouth suddenly twitch, until Ukitake held out the package for the day wrapped in a shiny gold paper. His teal eyes lit up and he began to unwrap the package. A bit of confusion spread on his face, seeing a variety of pencils. A note though was attached and he found himself reading the small note out loud.

" _What is a sketchpad unless you have something to draw in it with. The last time I checked, you've never used drawing pencils before. Each pencil's lead is a bit different and will give you different shading quality._ " The boy frowned, before looking up at Momo.

"Why are you looking at me like I've got something on my face?" The small female puffed her cheeks out.

"Are you the Secret Santa Hinamori? You're the only person I know of who does art work and would know this kind of information." Toshiro asked, his eyes wide and a bit hopeful.

"As if! I can't believe you would think I would want to speak to you of all people after what happened." Momo turned around and quickly stormed out of the room. "Who would want anything to do with a spoiled brat like you!"

"That wasn't very nice." Ukitake looked at the ceiling. "You know... Momo isn't the only person you know who does art work Shiro-chan."

"Yes she is." The boy suddenly glanced to the side. "That's one of the reasons I don't like her pressuring me on my drawing. I like keeping it to myself. I'm actually surprised someone knows about it, but I honestly don't think this person is a stalker.

"While Momo is the only person you know that you know does art work, you've also got to take into consideration that there are people you know that you don't know do art work but in fact do." Ukitake smiled. "I'll let you get to work."

"Uh-huh..."


	8. Day Eight

After the other had left the room Toshiro found himself looking at the pencils, curious about how they would work. He glanced away with his teal eyes and worked away at the paperwork but finally the temptation proved to be to great. He cleaned out his brush and placed the papers to the side before picking up the sketchpad and pencils.

He pulled his knees up to his chest and then flipped open the cover. The sound of the paper scraping against the spiral binding was inviting, but even more so was the scratching sound the pencils made. He soon found himself loosing track of time as he sketched away. Eventually though, his head began to nod off and a soft snore came from his mouth.

Rangiku stepped into the office, her shoulders tensed up. A smile spread on her face and she stepped over to the small taicho, taking the sketchpad from him. She took a few minutes to look at the various pictures he had drawn before letting out a deep sigh. Her hand then carefully removed the pencil that was in his hand and picked up the others that were on the desk, putting them back in the container.

When Toshiro woke up the next morning, he found himself asleep on the small couch that was in the division office. Sitting up, he stretched his muscles and let out a deep sigh. "She moved me again."

His teal eyes caught a glimpse of her desk.. All the papers that were on her desk were in the spot where her finished pile went. Normally the stack was small, but everything was already finished. The small shinigami stood up and walked over to the desk and flipped through some of the papers. "She really did finish her work. I wonder where she is right now... drinking?"

Shaking his head, he headed for the door having noticed the paper work on his desk was already finished. Letting out a deep sigh, he went looking for a division member that had an idea where the busty fukutaicho might be. Toshiro finally found one that knew where she had gone. "She went to speak with Ichimaru Gin in the forth division."

Letting out a deep sigh, his mind wandered to the fact Rangiku had been obviously upset with the man just a few days ago. His worry got the better of him and he headed on over to the division. A member of the fourth gladly told him which room Gin was staying in and the boy headed towards the room. As he approached he heard a heavy handed conversation.

"Matsumoto must be letting her frustration out on him." A small hand reached up to scratch his white head of hair. "Wonderful..." However, as he got closer he realized that the two people talking t each other weren't Matsumoto Rangiku and Ichimaru Gin, but two silver haired men. " _Why would Ukitake want to speak with Ichimaru?_ "

"Please understand that I don't want to see that person hurt. I am not sure of your intentions in this matter so I hope you understand my questioning your actions." The taicho of the thirteenth division said just as Toshiro walked through the door.

Gin was sitting in the window, his composure calm. He glanced up when the boy entered and let out a deep sigh. "Chibi taicho's here."

Ukitake glanced up and placed a hand behind his head. "Ahh... Shiro-chan. I haven't given you the gift from your Secret Santa yet today have I?"

"I can wait. I was wondering if any of you have seen Matsumoto?" The boy barely stepped in the room despite the fact he didn't feel uncomfortable around Gin. You weren't supposed to feel comfortable around that man at all.

"You actually missed her." The man smiled, his eyes open for once. "What is this about a Secret Santa?"

Shock appeared on Ukitake's face, but his mouth then clamped shut. What ever he wanted to say didn't come out, but it was rather obvious he wanted to say something. Toshiro let out a deep sigh. "Someone decided to give me a gift every day, but I don't know who it is. It is as simple as that. Why are you interested?"

"I guess it has to do with the fact Unohana Taicho has told me I'm not to leave this room." Gin let out a laugh. "You seem to be doing well."

Toshiro's eyes widened in surprise at the last comment but then his mind focused on the first thing the man had said. "Why is Unohana keeping you in here?"

The former taicho of the third division's smile suddenly faltered. Letting out a deep sigh he turned to look out the window. "You want to tell him Ukitake-san? I personally don't want to talk about it."

"Shiro-chan, why don't we go for a walk. I can give you today's present while we talk." The man stated.

Toshiro followed suit, glancing back at Gin. Something about the situation bothered him, but he couldn't place exactly what it was he was feeling. " _I'm not supposed to like the man."_

"Do you know what depression is?" Ukitake asked.

"My fukutaicho has bouts of depression. I don't like it when she gets depressed because it makes me worry about her." Two teal eyes blinked from confusion.

"I'm thankful she knows how to deal with her dark moods properly. Gin on the other hand does not." The man paused short and handed Toshiro a package wrapped in ugly pin striped paper.

Two small hands opened it quickly, a smile appearing on his face. "Watercolors. I've heard Hinamori talk about these before." However, the smile quickly faded before he looked up at the older male. "What do you mean by him not being able to handle his dark moods properly?"

Ukitake frowned at this point in time. "Unohana has him on a suicide watch. I can't exactly blame her as he isn't at all acting like the person we know so well."

"When it comes to Ichimaru isn't that a good thing?" Toshiro's own frown deepened. "I mean, if he is acting different that means he's acting like a better person. If he was acting like a worse person he would be locked up."

"While it is true that Gin's behavior has improved, I was actually referring to his demeanor. He's no longer smiling. He's not cracking any jokes. I've heard that they've been having problems getting him to eat even when they remind him that it is time to eat."

"This doesn't explain why he is on a suicide watch though." The small taicho let out a deep sigh before folding his arms.

"I honestly don't know the details myself. I just know that both Yamamoto and Unohana had a good long conversation with him before making the decisions they've made. I trust them, but..." Ukitake placed a hand on he top of Toshiro's head. "I don't have the right to tell you to stay away from him, but I do advise spending as little time with him as possible, at least until we figure things out."

"Because I'm not an adult?" A small hand moved the bigger hand away.

"Toshiro, I don't even think it is good for me to spend much time with him. I'm not saying I won't be visiting him though. He's dealing with some dark things and he has never been really comfortable around other people." The man began to walk again.

"He isn't comfortable around you Ukitake?" Toshiro found himself confused again.

The man smiled over his shoulder. "You aren't exactly comfortable around people either. I think you of all people would understand how it would feel to have people constantly invading your personal space while you're in the fourth division."

The small taicho glanced to the side. "I also don't like it when I am left all alone for long periods of time."

"That's why I didn't say you couldn't visit him. You just need to restrict your visits with him." The two then went their separate ways. Toshiro couldn't help but feel like Ukitake was purposefully trying to hide something from him.


	9. Day Nine

When the small taicho got back to the tenth division he bumped into Matsumoto Rangiku. She asked where he had gone but he choose not to answer her. The next day he found himself going back to the fourth division. The place he stopped by first was Unohana's office, where she gave him a kind smile. "How are you doing today Hitsugaya Taicho?"

"I am doing fine." The boy looked at her without blinking. "Why exactly is Gin on suicide watch? Do you think he is going to try and kill himself?"

The smile left the woman's face. "Can I ask you Hitsugaya Taicho why you think someone would want to kill themselves?"

Two teal eyes stared at her for a few minutes before reaching up to scratch his head. "I guess the person would be thinking along the lines that their life isn't worth anything. What I don't understand is why Ichimaru doesn't think his life is worth anything. I know Matsumoto is upset with him, but he's worth something to her."

Unohana smile suddenly returned. "Sometimes a person doesn't realize what worth other people see in them and only see their worth from their own perspective."

Toshiro opened his mouth to say something, but then clamped shut. He waited a few minutes and then spoke up. "I don't have room to talk I think because I personally see myself as having little worth, but I also know that other people see me as having some worth. Matsumoto's really good at reminding me as are other people."

"So why are you here exactly?"

"You changed the subject. Is there something you're hiding from me?" The corner of the small taicho's mouth twisted up.

"There is something I want to tell you, but because there are some thing I can't tell you about I am unable to say what I want to say." Unohana's expression remained the same. "I am curious as to why you are here?"

Two teal eyes looked at two small feet. "Truth of the matter, I am worried about Ichimaru. I know Ukitake Taicho is concerned. I also know my fukutaicho is upset about something. So, I know something is wrong."

"You know I can't go into details of what is wrong with Ichimaru. Truth of the matter is, he wants as few people to know the details as possible at this point. The situation is complex." The woman watched as the small taicho's face twisted up.

A short period of silence came between the two before Toshiro spoke up. He glanced at the side. "I know that the situation is likely none of my business and I shouldn't be worried about him. I heard from Ukitake that Ichimaru isn't eating."

Unohana's eyes went wide and her mouth opened for a few seconds before speaking. "Ukitake told you about the fact Ichimaru's been skipping meals?"

"I stopped by the forth division yesterday because I thought Matsumoto would be visiting him." Toshiro's fingers began to tap on the chair and he felt his throat tense up. "I asked Ichimaru why he was being kept in the forth division despite the fact he is physically fine. He told Ukitake to explain things to me, but Ukitake couldn't explain much. I kind of got the feeling Ichimaru didn't mind me knowing some of what was going on."

"He just doesn't want to worry you."

"Why?" Toshiro tried thinking of a reason why Gin would think along those lines. "It wouldn't happen to have something to do with Rangiku."

"Sort of." Unohana's smile twitched, almost as if she found the conversation amusing. "As I've said, there are certain things I can't tell you."

"Are you going to tell me it is best to stay away from Ichimaru too?" Toshiro felt the corner of his mouth twitch up as he tried to control his inner emotions.

"Who told you to stay away from him?" The female taicho blinked a couple of times. "Matsumoto? I can understand why she would want you to stay away, she is upset with Ichimaru. She's likely to be more mad at him before things are through."

"He's making himself sick, so I can understand completely." The boy continued to tap his fingers on the edge of the chair. "Ukitake is actually the person who told me to stay away from him. He didn't say I had to stay away completely, but more of he was concerned with me spending to much time with Ichimaru. He says Ichimaru needs time and doesn't want to be around people."

"It is honestly all right for you to visit him. Ukitake is right though about Ichimaru being temperamental. He hasn't hurt himself or anyone else. He just isn't very sociable. Everyone whose visited him hasn't got much out of him."

"I know I barely know him and as I've said the situation isn't any of my business. I also don't think I'll be of any help, but I would still like to try. I don't understand why." Toshiro took a deep breath and released it. "I was wondering if I could eat lunch with him today. I don't know if he'll eat anything while I'm there, but I want to try."

"I don't have a problem with this."

Toshiro opened his mouth only for it to stay open. He shook his head. "I thought you would say no."

"I think seeing you may cheer him up a bit." Unohana smiled. "If you go to the kitchen, ask if you can have two treys to take to the man's room and let them know if they have any questions to bring it up with me."

**M**

Gin sat in the window and stared out at the world. A particular reiatsu came closer to his room in the forth but he choose to ignore it until the small figure entered the doorway. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed that the small taicho of the tenth division was balancing two treys and attempting to keep his balance.

Toshiro's foot hit the bottom lip of the door and the upper body continued with the momentum. The silver haired man took in the look of surprise and quickly moved from his sitting position and grabbed the treys as the child crashed to the ground. He carefully placed the food onto the bed before turning to the boy. "Are you all right chibi taicho?"

"Would you not call me that?" Toshiro's eyes were clamped shut and he had a hand on the top of his head.

Letting out a deep sigh, Gin reached down and grabbed the back of the white haori and pulled up. "I asked you if you're all right."

"I'm fine." The boy found himself placed back on his feet in a gentle manner.

The man turned his pale teal eyes upon the food treys. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to eat lunch with you." Toshiro stated as he dusted himself off. "I got permission from Unohana to do so."

"I am not really in a sociable mood." Gin said.

"I'm not known for being very sociable." The small taicho walked over to the bed and picked up a trey and pushed it towards the man. "I'm just here to make sure you eat everything like you're supposed to."

The man took the trey from the boy's hands before sitting down on the edge of the bed. "It's not your job to look after me Shiro-chan. I'm a lot older then you and it is a waste of your time to be worrying about me."

"Then don't give me reason to worry." Toshiro picked up the other trey and went to sit down in a chair before he began to pick at his own food.

"You're a funny kid, you know that?"

"I know I'm not a kid Ichimaru." Two dark teal eyes glared right at the man as the boy had his chopsticks in his mouth.

"No. You seem to have grown up since I've been away." Gin's hands didn't move to touch the food.

The small taicho continued to glare at the man. "Just to let you know, I'm not leaving until you eat everything."

"Do you really think it is a good idea to lecture me about eating all of my food when you're in the middle of picking at your food?"

Toshiro glanced up and looked right at the man with a frown on his face. "If I don't eat slow I'll make a mess."

At first Gin stared at the child with his pale teal eyes, but then he let out a soft laugh. "It's good to know some things don't change."

"I'm not sure what you're talking about."

"The fact you've always been a messy eater if you eat to fast." The man stated. He watched as Toshiro flinched.

"People don't like being spied on you know." Toshiro lobbed a jibe at one of the man's favorite past times.

"I just like watching people. And I never spied. Nobody never noticed me so I could watch all I want." Gin continued to stare at the boy without eating his food. "How are things between you and Rangiku?"

"For someone who said he wasn't in a sociable mood, you sure are talking a lot." The boy frowned at the man.

"I guess I'm not going to get an answer from you am I?" The man still hadn't touched his food. Suddenly though, he picked up one of the dishes. "If I eat will you answer the question?"

"We're doing fine. Our relationship is the same as it always is." Toshiro watched as the man began to eat. "Why are you so concerned? It isn't as if Rangiku tried finding a replacement in me or anything like that. Not to mention she's way older then me so you don't have to worry about that."

Gin let out a sudden laugh. "I never was worried about that." The man began to eat his food and asked another question. "Are you enjoying your lunch?"

"It's all right." Toshiro slowly ate away at his food. "If you would take better care of yourself then Matsumoto wouldn't be so mad at you?"

"You really think so?"

"That's why she's always getting mad at me."

"I honestly think our circumstances are different."

"What other reason is she mad at you for? Unless of course she's still miffed you took off like you did and always do."

"Pretty much that."

A knock suddenly came from the doorway. "I didn't realize you would be here Hitsugaya. I haven't gotten your present yet."

"That's all right." Toshiro glanced over at Gin and noticed that he had stopped speaking and eating when the man had entered the room. "Do you wish to speak with Ichimaru?"

"I can wait until you've finished eating." Ukitake smiled. Something was bothering the man though, but Toshiro didn't pry.

"I'm finished." Toshiro stated. "Are you finished Ichimaru?"

The man simply pushed the trey away and the small taicho picked it up. He attempted to try another balancing act only to have Ichimaru take the two treys and rearrange everything so it was on one trey. The small taicho then headed to the kitchen. Isane took the plate from him. "He's still not eating?"

"That was my lunch not his." Toshiro piped up. "I don't eat very fast."

"Ehh... you managed to get him to eat something on his own?" The female shook her head.

"It wasn't that hard." The small taicho made a quick bow.

"If you wait a few minutes I can package this up for you to go." The female fukutaicho placed the food into a small bento box and handed it to the small taicho.

He then headed back to his division and began to work on his paperwork while he finished his lunch. A few hours later Ukitake came into the room. Toshiro glanced up, a half smile on his face. "How did it go with Ichimaru?"

"He refused to say anything unless he had to. I've told you he hasn't been very sociable."

"He was overly sociable when I was there." A package was set down on the desk top and the small taicho opened it up. In the package was a thing of watercolor paper.

"I over heard the last part of the conversation the two of you had. I also saw he actually ate for once. Do be careful though."

"I'll be fine Ukitake. I'm a taicho of the Gotei Thirteen. I'm also used to people insulting me, so I doubt that there is anything he could throw at me that would mentally scar me for life." Toshiro paused. "He is acting weird though. I would have thought Matsumoto would have been the most likely one to get him to open up."


	10. Day Ten

The next morning Toshiro found himself getting up early. He went straight to the office and sat down in front of the stack of paper work. At first he kept fidgeting and glancing over at the art supplies that the Secret Santa person had given him. Letting out a deep sigh he finally glanced up at the ceiling. " _I promise myself I'll take some time to enjoy myself._ "

After that the fidgeting stopped and he finished his work within a few hours of getting into the office. He then stood up and walked over to the couch and began to sketch in the sketchbook while the watercolor items sat on the small table next to the couch. He found himself drawn into the activity when he suddenly noticed a shadow over him.

Glancing up he saw his fukutaicho bending over his shoulder. "Your picture is nice. Are you going to work with your watercolors at all?"

"I need to experiment with them a bit and I want a good sketch of the picture I want to do." Toshiro continued to keep his eyes glued on his sketch.

"What is good is that you are enjoying yourself." Rangiku smiled at him.

"And I waited to enjoy myself until after my work is done." The boy muttered. He didn't dare glance over at her desk as he would have ended up planting his face into an uncomfortable position in comparison to her body.

"I get it. I get it. I'm going to get to work." The woman walked over to her desk and began to work.

"You seem to be in a better mood today." Toshiro commented as he continued sketching. "Are you getting along with Ichimaru again?"

The small boy felt a fluctuation in the woman's reiatsu. "I don't really want to talk about him taicho. Please don't pry."

"I'm not trying to pry." Toshiro suddenly turned to look over his shoulder.

He winced as Rangiku glared at him. "What exactly have you been up to?"

"I haven't been up to anything." The boy frowned at the accusation.

"Why do I get the idea your siding with Ichimaru right now." The woman let out a deep sigh.

"I'm not siding with anybody." Toshiro set the sketchpad down. "I'm just worried about him."

Rangiku suddenly raised an eyebrow. "Have you visited him?" The small taicho glanced away from her. He heard her let out an irritated sound. "You have visited him. What has he said to you?"

"He didn't really talk about anything. He just asked me how you and I were doing and if things were all right between us. I told him if he took better care of himself that you wouldn't be so mad at him."

"I don't want you visiting him." The woman's words were sudden and startled the boy from what he was doing.

"Matsumoto..." The boy looked over to see that the busty woman had an angry look on her face. "What have I done wrong?"

"You..." The woman opened her mouth, realizing that she had been directing her anger to the wrong person. She placed a hand on her forehead. "Taicho... I'm not angry with you. I'm mad at Ichimaru right now."

"You're calling him now by his last name. You must be really made at him. "The bow set his sketchpad down. "Still... your problems between him are between you and him. My going to see him has nothing to do with your dispute with him. I don't want to get involved."

"Then why are you going?" Rangiku shook her head in disbelief.

The boy glanced down at his sandal clad feet. "It doesn't feel right not to."

"Taicho, you're going just because you're curious. This isn't a game." The woman sighed.

Toshiro glanced up, his lips pushing together and forming a thin line. "I know it isn't a game. You... I think you're letting your anger with him get in the way."

Rangiku's eyes flashed and then she spoke up, her words dark in tone. "Yes. I am possibly letting my anger get in the way. However, I above all people should know how that man is and how he treats other people. I can't see this ending in any way other then you getting hurt."

Toshiro slammed his hands down. "Knock it off already! I'm supposed to be the child!"

"That's the point I'm making." Rangiku crossed her arms across her chest.

"While that may be the point you were _trying_ to make, nothing changes the fact that wasn't what I meant. I almost _never_ bring up my age because I'm expected _not_ to act my age but actually expected to act like an adult. _You_ on the other hand _are_ an adult and right now you're acting like a child. I'm going to ask you to back off on this Matsumoto."

"You're not going to respect my request?" The woman's face suddenly paled. "Taicho... please..."

"I refuse because doing so doesn't feel right." The small taicho suddenly gathered up his drawing supplies. "You know what? I'm going to go have a word with Hinamori and settle things between us. I for goodness sake don't like the fact you and Gin aren't getting along and it makes me think that I'm being a hypocrite for not saying what I feel to her so we can settle things."

**M**

The small taicho arrived at the fifth division with his sketch pad under his arm, not realizing he had brought it with him. A few of the members glanced up at him and a few of the female ones let out a giggle behind their hands that he didn't notice. He instead walked straight over to her desk. "Hinamori, can I talk to you?"

The small female glanced up, blinking a couple of times. "You want to go out to lunch with me Shiro-chan?"

"No... I just want to talk to you." The boy let out a deep sigh. "You do realize that you're not calling me Hitsugaya Taicho in front of your entire division, right?"

"Oh... sorry Shi... Hitsugaya Taicho." The female began to tap her fingers on the desk. "I thought you weren't interested in drawing?"

"Would you stop with that!"

"I don't want to talk to you if you're going to yell at me like that. Granny taught you better."

"Hinamori!" Toshiro slapped the sketchbook against the desk. "Now you listen here to me!"

"Stop yelling at me! I don't know what your problem is." Momo shook her head at the small taicho.

"Fine..." The boy took a deep breath. "First, I'll start off with the fact Granny also taught you better."

"What do you mean by that? You're just saying that because I brought it up to use against you."

"Because maybe you will listen if I tell you that your behavior isn't something that Granny wouldn't approve of. You can't keep ignoring..."

"Get out!" Momo suddenly stood up. When Toshiro didn't move to leave, she pointed her finger towards the door. "I said get out! You aren't welcome here!"

The small taicho felt his cheeks suddenly flare up before storming out of the room. He simply kept walking until he realized he was in front of the forth division. When he saw this, he blinked a couple of times in surprise.

**M**

Gin sat in his room at the windowsill looking out the window. Ukitake had left the room a few minutes ago. The sound of small feet suddenly came hurrying though the door and he glanced up to see that Toshiro was standing in the door way. "It isn't quite lunch time yet Shiro-chan."

"I..." The child's mouth froze before he hurried over. Under his arm was a sketchbook and in his other hand was a small package from his Secret Santa that the thirteenth division captain managed to hand him before he came to he room.

"You did come to see me though?" The man smiled at the boy.

"Kind of... sort of..." The corners of Toshiro's mouth twisted up in frustration.

The silver haired man nodded to a chair. "Why don't you take a seat?" The boy complied and Gin walked over to sit on the bed, before pointing at the sketchbook. "Can I take a look?"

The small taicho startled as he stared down at the sketchbook under his arm. "I hadn't noticed that I had it with me." He then looked up warily at the man. "Do you promise not to laugh?"

"I promise to only laugh if you meant the picture funny." The man stated as the book was handed to him. He then sat with his back against the bed's headboard and began to flip through the book. "I'm glad to see you."

"Matsumoto isn't happy that I'm coming to see you though." Toshiro's lips pushed together in a fine line.

Gin's head snapped up at this. "If she's told you not to come, you shouldn't come."

"So you're saying you don't want me to come?" The boy folded his arms across his chest, only to remember that he had the package. "I got a gift from my Secret Santa. Do yo want to find out what it is?"

"Toshiro..." The man handed the book back without going through all of the sketches. "Do you really want Ran-chan to be mad at you."

"She already is." Toshiro frowned. "Have I done anything wrong?"

"You're disobeying her." Gin shook his head. He watched as the boy glared at him. "I know... your the taicho and she's the fukutaicho."

"She also isn't my mother." The boy spoke up. "I mean, I appreciate the fact she's looking out for me and I _wish_ she was my mother. Even _if_ she was my mother I wouldn't be listening to her on this because what she's asked is wrong."

"You think her asking you to not visiting me is wrong?" The man shook his head in disbelief.

"Well, she's doing it because she is mad at you. It is as simple as that, and _that_ isn't right."

Gin titled his head at the boy. "No. I guess it isn't right. Something else is bothering you though."

"I tried going and talking to Momo and telling her how I felt about the way she's been treating me and instead I got kicked out of the fifth division because she wanted to throw a tantrum." Toshiro turned to the man. "I think it is pretty bad when people act less maturely then either one of us."

"On one side... ouch." The man shook his head in amusement. "But on the other side I enjoy hearing you say the odd things you say."

"I don't think it is funny, so please stop laughing." Toshiro frowned at the man as he began to unwrap the gift.

"It isn't funny as in I think you're stupid. I find what you say to be rather intelligent. It's just only you can think of the things you do."

"You seem in a better mood." The boy shoved the package towards Gin. "What is this?"

"A CD..."

"No... I mean I don't recognize the music."

The man took the object and flipped it from one side to the other. "It's something called ragtime. It is a kind of jazz music."

"I still don't have a clue what you're talking about." Toshiro frowned at the man, taking the CD from the man.

"If you listen to it you'll know what it is." Gin tapped on the plastic casing.

"I _don't_ have a CD player though." The boy let out a deep sigh, before turning the CD over to look at the music list."

"Are you going to stay for lunch?" the man asked.

"Yeah... I don't want to see Matsumoto right now." Toshiro found that Gin didn't push the issue.


	11. Day Eleven

The small taicho sat at his desk tapping his fingers on his desk. His lips pushed together as he thought about what Gin said to him the day before. " _You may want to think about not coming everyday in order to make Rangiku semi happy._ "

Toshiro shook his head in frustration. " _Baka. Why does he break down like this when it comes to keeping Matsumoto happy? He lets her walk all over him, so it is no wonder he's in such a depressed state as he is._ "

" _You do the same thing for Hinamori Momo._ "

" _I am not romantically attracted to my sister._ "

" _My point was that you are more then willing to sacrifice what is good for you in order to make the ones you care about happy. You would be more then willing to let them walk all over you._ "

The small taicho leaned on his arm in irritation, before turning back to finishing the last of the paperwork. He glanced up when a package was placed on his desk. Glancing up he saw Ukitake looking at him. "Would you like some help finishing up your paper work?"

"While I appreciate the offer, you're not always going to be around." Toshiro stated.

"Which is an even bigger reason for me to take on some of the work while I can, I won't always be around." Ukitake took some of the papers and headed over to Matsumot's desk. "I take it something is bothering you."

"Well, I was thinking about how Ichimaru lets Matsumoto walk all over him." Toshiro stated.

"That's part of his personality that we're unlikely to ever change." The man let out a deep sigh as he picked up a brush.

"Well, there is that." Toshiro put his own brush down to pick up the package. A frown crossed his face as he felt the weight. "I was thinking about how I've also let Hinamori walk all over me. I decided a few days ago that I don't like her doing that to me and I tried talking to her about it." He paused as the packaging was somewhat opened. "Ichimaru suggested I not come everyday to make Matsumoto angry, or as angry as she is."

"Well... I am not sure what to say about your situation with Matsumoto. But if you want, I can try talking to Hinamori."

Toshiro looked at him, his teal eyes having a look of disbelief. "You can try... but, she went off on me in her own division."

"Really?" Ukitake frowned at this. "Well, I would think that she has enough respect for me to listen to me."

The small taicho didn't answer and instead finished unwrapping his present. He pulled the item out and found a disk player and flipped it over in confusion. The item came with batteries, which explained the weight and a cord to plug it in. "I guess this is for playing the CD I got yesterday. And this..." Toshiro picked up the headphones. "This is for listening to it with, though this one has a built in speaker too. This is... a rather nice gift."

Ukitake frowned. "We're back to the fact you prefer your Secret Santa not spending much on you. I think..." The man paused, glancing down at the paper work.

"I'm not ungrateful." The boy went to plug the player in so he could listen while he worked.


	12. Day Twelve

Ukitake found himself heading towards the forth division to pick up Toshiro's Secret Santa gift. After dropping off the gift he would be heading to the fifth division in order to speak with Hinamori Momo about her behavior. He slipped into Gin's room, his smile coming half heartily. The younger silver haired man glanced up, then glanced away. "There was a time you would actually smile at me."

The man suddenly frowned, before moving the chair next to Gin's bed and sitting down. "I'm not going to lie to you that I have problems trusting you. It would be a bit easier perhaps if I knew what your intentions with Hitsugaya Taicho happened to be and whether or not there are ill intentions involved."

Gin remained silent for a few minutes, before speaking up. "How did Shiro-chan like yesterdays gift."

Ukitake let out a deep sigh. "He prefers gifts where someone hasn't spent a lot of money on him."

"That isn't surprising. He's not very accepting of the fact people are willing to spoil him a bit." The younger man choose not to look Ukitake in the face.

"Except..." The taicho of the thirteenth division felt his frown increase. "I honestly don't know if you're doing this because you want to actually spoil him a bit or if this is just a game for you that is going away after you've had your fun. You shouldn't string him along just because its getting you out of this depression your in. I'd rather he not be involved."

"It's honestly a bit late for that." Gin remained sitting in the bed and showed no signs of wanting to make conversation.

Ukitake stood up with the small package in his hand and headed to the door. "Another CD..."

When he got to the doorway, he found a voice calling out to him and causing him to look up and freeze right in the middle of the doorway. The fukutaicho of the fifth division was standing there, staring at him. "Aren't you coming from Ichimaru Gin's room?"

"Hello Hinamori! I was hoping to speak with you about Hitsugaya Taicho." The man could feel the corner of his mouth twitch slightly.

Momo frowned at him. " _He_ wouldn't happen to be Shiro-chan's Secret Santa? He _can't_ be! That man _is_ a monster."

Ukitake chanced a look over his shoulder and noticed that Gin as ignoring the whole situation. Letting out a sigh, he grabbed Momo's shoulder and pulled her away from the room. "Can we go somewhere where we aren't disturbing Unohana Taicho's patients?" The small female opened her mouth to protest. "If we don't, we'll have her after us."

The small female gave in and they walked to the outskirts of the complex, a pout on her face. She folded her arms and glared at him. "I don't want him near Shiro-chan."

"That really isn't your choice but Hitsugaya Taicho's Hinamori. He can fend for himself you know and he's old enough to make his own mind up about things." The man tucked the package under his arm. "Speaking of which..."

"Don't change the subject!" Momo found her cheeks puffing up. "Ichimaru is a monster and he's only doing this for his own self gratification and he's going to hurt Shiro-chan when all is said and done. Can't you see that? I mean, why is _anyone_ trusting him about this?"

"Unohana seems to trust him, she's the one who asked me to help with this." Ukitake swallowed, knowing full well he had his own reservations on the matter.

"But _you_ don't trust him either." The small female's temper continued to rise. "I have a mind to tell him _who_ his Secret Santa is!"

"Now don't you go doing that! While we have reason not to trust Ichimaru, we also don't know if his intentions are for sure bad. Plus, how will Hitsugaya Taicho feel _if_ you told him?"

" _How_ would he feel if he _isn't_ told. Shiro-chan's going to be very upset when he finds out who it is!"

"Hitsugaya Taicho _can_ take care of himself. He isn't a little child and needs to deal with these kinds of things on his own without anyone interfering." Ukitake found himself frowning at the girl, wondering why she was being so stubborn about the issue.

"I _have_ a woman's society meeting I have to get to." Momo didn't notice the thirteenth division taicho flinch when she said this. "I came to grab Isane so we can head on over."

The man watched as the small female spun on her heals, heading off towards the woman's society in a major huff. A hand reached up to scratch his white head of hair in frustration. He then let out a deep sigh before heading off to the tenth division. The frown quickly faded when he saw that Toshiro was in a good mood and he handed off the package.

However, as the small taicho was opening said package, the frown came back while he thought about something. " _While it is true that Hitsugaya Taicho has lifted spirits right now, he's not going to be happy about the outcome. Still, I wouldn't want to be the one to dampen his enjoyment. He actually thinks someone cares about him enough to go to such lengths as they have. Myself, I am not so sure._ "

"It is another CD. I also know what kind of music it is this time. The band does hard metal rock." Toshiro stated as he opened the CD to put it into his CD player. However, he suddenly paused and glanced up at Ukitake, giving that man a wide eyed look, almost as if he had been caught doing a childish act.

"You don't have to just listen to classical music. While this music isn't something I'm interested in, I know the fukutaicho of the ninth division is very interested in it." Ukitake stated, a smile suddenly appearing on his face again.

"Would Kurosaki be listening to this kind of music?"

"The substitute shinigami?" The man blinked a couple of times. "I would think so. This is popular among his age group down on earth." He watched as Toshiro shrugged his shoulders and began to put the headphones on. "Just be sure not to listen to the music to loud. Any music played to loudly isn't good for your ears."

"Thanks for letting me know that."

**M**

Momo's cheeks were puffed out as she walked with Isane to the woman's society meeting. The tall female found herself glancing nervously at Momo, not sure what was upsetting the much smaller female this time around. They arrived at the meeting and found the others were already there. Her sister ran up to her with a bright greeting, not noticing the fact Momo was upset.

Nanao however glanced away from writing on the chalk board while Matsumoto sprawled out on one of the tables looking rather miserable herself. "Whatever is the matter Hinamori Fukutaicho?"

"I found out that Ichimaru Gin is Shiro-chan's Secret Santa." The words came blurting out of Momo's mouth with no thought.

The fukutaicho of the eighth division found her face suddenly paling. " _Ichimaru? He's_ the one whose been..."

Soifon glanced between everyone. "What is this whole Secret Santa business?"

Kiyone blinked a couple of times. "I just knew that my taicho has been delivering them."

"I knew..." Isane spoke up. "I don't have a problem with it because Unohana Taicho approved the whole thing in the first place. I am sure that she wouldn't have approved it if there was a good reason not to."

"I knew it was him as soon as I saw that book he gave taicho. It's from his own personal collection. He's not giving me any answers. On top of this, taicho has taken to visiting him and having lunch with him." Matsumoto remained sprawled out on the table. "I've told taicho I don't want him getting involves with G... that man, but he says it isn't any of my business."

"I don't see how this isn't our business. Couldn't you just tell Ichimaru to stop all of this?" Nanao frowned at Rangiku. She then pushed her glasses up. "I certainly am not pleased with having been dragged into this."

"I've told him to stop when I found out about the book, but..." Rangiku sat up. "... taicho is enjoying himself for once. He's actually smiling, something he doesn't do very often. He also... I have to admit, is enjoying his visits with G... that man. I've only seen him like this with Kurosaki Ichigo. He's thriving on it. I know he is eventually going to have to find out, but it has also been doing him some good. I won't take that away from him. I'd rather let _him_ do it."

"But... I don't agree with _not_ telling him." Momo found herself clutching her robes.

Soifon began to tap her fingers. "What if he is doing this to get back at you or to try and win you back by spoiling your taicho?"

"I already yelled at him about that. He says he has no reason to get back at me and that he doesn't expect to win me back." Rangiku pinched the bridge of her nose. "It is better that I have this stress then my taicho. He doesn't know how that _fox_ really is."


	13. Day Thirteen

Toshiro woke up and headed into the office and found a package ready for him to open on his desk. He sat down in his desk wondering why Ukitake had delivered the package as early as he did. The child taicho let out a deep sigh due to the fact he couldn't speak to the man to see how the meeting with Momo went. " _I should have asked him yesterday, but I became a bit preoccupied with the gift. I should get my work done before I get distracted._ "

The small taicho picked up the CD player and switched out the CD and began to dig into his work. He didn't notice the person step into the room. "Shiro-chan?"

Momo blinked a couple of times as he didn't answer her. She shook her head and glanced at the desk and picked up the package that was on his desk, shaking her head as she did so. It was obviously another CD. She then glanced back at Toshiro and noticed that he seemed to be enjoying himself greatly. She took a deep breath and then spoke up again. "Shiro-chan!"

Toshiro startled and looked right at her with wide eyes. He then pressed the pause button and removed the headphones. He swallowed hard. "Do you need something Hinamori?"

"I came to deliver some papers. They're on your desk." The girl stated. "I'll be leaving now."

"More paper work?" Toshiro let out a deep sigh as he suddenly noticed there was something missing. Glancing back up he noticed that the present was in her hand. "Could I please have that back? And are you sure you don't want to stay and talk?"

"What do you mean do I want to stay and talk? There isn't anything to talk about! I mean, it isn't as if I've been doing anything wrong. You're the one whose been ignoring me and staying away from me."

"Oh really?" Toshiro felt the corner of his mouth twitch. "I could swear you're the one avoiding me and not wanting to talk about the things. But if it is really me then you should be more then willing to talk now that I've offered to talk, right?"

"Are you trying to make fun of me?" Momo puffed out her mouth and slammed the gift down.

The small taicho suddenly found himself standing up. "Hey! Be careful! I don't want it broken whatever it is!"

"Whatever it is!" The small female puffed out her cheeks. "It is obviously a CD! Another bloody CD Shiro-chan!"

"So what if it is?" Toshiro found his cheeks beginning to flush as his ire rose. "I don't _care_ if it is another bloody CD. Who ever picked it out cared enough to give it to me"

" _Care_? Ichimaru Gin doesn't _care_ about you!" Momo snapped the words out without realizing what she was saying.

A horrified look spread on the small taicho's face. "What do you mean by Ichimaru? What does he have to do with this?"

"Haven't you figured it out? _He's_ your Secret Santa! He's doing this because he's playing a game with you!"

"No... you're..." The white haired child suddenly lunged across his desk to grab the package from her hand.

Momo suddenly yanked the package away from him. "What do you think you're doing! Shiro-chan, he..."

There came a resounding ripping sound and Toshiro looked at her with a horrified look as the CD crashed to the desk, each one of them holding a part of the wrapping paper. He felt his mouth open to try and say something, but nothing was coming out of his mouth. Momo also had a rather horrified look on her face. Finally, he glanced down. "How could you Hinamori?"

"I... he's going to hurt you. He..." The female suddenly paused. Toshiro shook his head before grabbing his CD player and switching out the CD. He then scoped up the items. "Hey, aren't you going to say something to me?"

"Say something to you?" The child taicho's head darted up, a frown spread across his face. His eyes were a tad wet as he tried to hold back all the emotions. "You don't get it, do you Hinamori? You really don't get it?"

"I'm just trying to protect you." Momo watched as he forced himself to look away from her.

"You _aren't_ protecting me. Not when you're the one constantly hurting me. I _can't_ do this anymore. Every time I think about or try making things right with you I find myself exhausted. Watching you gush praise over _that_ monster, even asking me to spare his life after you _tried_ to kill me. We're _supposed_ to be family, but you favored him and forgot about me except for when you needed a trump little brother. I'm not a little kid anymore though. I'm also a person with feelings."

" _He's_ a monster! You can't act like my adoration of Aizen is wrong when you've been fawning attention on a monster yourself and admiring him as if he is the most amazing thing ever!"

"Except I _don't_ admire him. I also know full well that he's a monster too. But I don't have a problem giving him a second chance." Toshiro felt his entire body shaking suddenly as he held onto the items in his hand.

"You're lying to yourself! I mean, why would you care what happens to him unless you admire him! That's how much of a monster he is!"

"Because if he can get better then there is a chance I won't also eventually turn into a monster like him!" The small taicho pushed past her and hurried towards his quarters. He slammed the door shut and turned on the light while he switched on the music player. The CD cover said it was some kind of music called swing and he found it calming him down.


	14. Day Fourteen

The small taicho found himself coming in and out of sleep, a gurgling sound coming from his throat accompanied by a bubbly feeling. The headphones were on his head from when he fell asleep and his thumb was in the book marking the page he left off on. He heard Rangiku come into the room but wasn't able to shake himself awake.

She carefully reached down and removed the headphones and CD player. She then removed the book and covered him with a blanket. A cold hand touched his forehead before she spoke up. "Perhaps you should stay in bed today taicho."

When Toshiro finally woke up he found himself a tad warmer then he wanted to be. His head hurt slightly and his uniform was wrinkled from having fallen asleep in it. He let out a deep breath and noticed that Rangiku had been in his room like he thought checking up on him, as his book and CD player were put on the stand next to his bed.

He picked up the book and tucked it under his pillow. He then changed into a fresh uniform and stood up. He found himself heading through the door, not realizing that his step was a bit off. Glancing up, he noted that it was around midday and he headed towards the forth division instead of the office. His mind drifted to what Momo had told him the day before.

Toshiro arrived at Gin's room, but remained in the doorway looking in. The man was yet again sitting in the window watching something outside. There were a few minutes of silence when the man suddenly spoke up. "I know you're there Shiro-chan."

"Have you eaten lunch yet?" The boy stepped into the room, swallowing as he did so.

The silver haired man glanced up, the soft smile on his face suddenly turning into a frown when he saw how pale Toshiro looked. "Shiro-chan, come here."

The small taicho made no effort to move. The man let out a sigh and waved his hand in a sharp, jerky manner indicating that he should come over to see him. The child moved over, frowning. When he was standing next to the man, Gin placed a hand behind the boy's head to prevent him from moving and touched his forehead to Toshiro's.

Gin then let out a deep sigh. "Just as I though, you have a fever. Get yourself back to bed kiddo. You can visit me tomorrow just as easily."

"But I haven't gotten your gift yet." Toshiro felt a dizzy spell hit him and he felt himself nearly fall. His eyes were directed at the ground, but he found himself suddenly seeing the man stiffen.

"You... you figured out I was the person giving you the gifts?" The man's voice strained a bit.

"I..." Two bright teal eyes glanced at the ground. The small taicho found himself swallowing.

"Nee... Shiro-chan... can you look me in the face and tell me what is going on?" The man let out a deep sigh.

"Is what Hinamori said..." Toshiro felt his mouth snapping shut, his mind suddenly panicking. He could hear Hyorinmaru telling him not to panic, but the fever was getting the best of him.

Gin let out a sigh and leaned against the window frame. "So... you found out from Momo-chan rather then figuring it out for yourself."

The small taicho's eyes snapped up. "So she was right in saying it is a game you planned out!"

"Excuse me?" The man raised an eyebrow, giving the small taicho a bemused look.

"I hate you! I hate you! I really hate you!" Toshiro felt his mouth tremble as well as his own body. "I don't like being teased about things! Not to mention I really thought... I really thought someone was doing all of this because they cared... because they..."

After the small boy stopped speaking, a bony hand reached out and grabbed Toshiro's chin and forced the boy to look him in the eye. "Go... back... to... bed. You can open today's package tomorrow."

The small taicho found himself suddenly chocking back his words in an attempt to not yell at he man. He found himself storming out of the room. When he reached the door, he spun around on his heals. "I hate you! I really hate you!"

He then headed back to his quarters in the tenth division and collapsed onto his bed. His headache had gotten worse and one small hand reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose. His entire body was now aching. Normally he could control his emotions when he was in pain, but the fever caused him to sob for a few minutes while burying his face into his wrists. "I hate being sick."


	15. Day Fifteen

Toshiro could feel his clothing sticking to his body due to the sweat that covered his body, only to have chills run through his body. Every so often he would start coughing and his body ached. He tried keeping the sounds he made quiet so that he wouldn't draw Rangiku's attention and worry her. He lay on his side and curled up in a slight fetal position.

One of the coughing fits however brought her into the room. "Taicho?" The woman came over and touched his shoulder to shake him awake. He glanced up at her, his eyes glazed over. "This is the second night you've fallen asleep in your uniform."

"Uh huh..." Toshiro simply went into a full fetal position before letting out another cough. He could feel his eyes watering up.

"Are you actually admitting that you're sick?" Rangiku tugged the child onto his back.

A small hand went up beside his head. "Can you just let me sleep Matsumoto."

The boy's eyes were closed but snapped open when she tugged him into a sitting position. "As soon as I get you out of those clothes and wash away the sweat. You'll at least feel a little better. Can you wait here while I go get a cloth and a bowl of water."

Toshiro felt her cold hand against the side of his face and he simply nodded his head. He then felt his head nod down and heard himself begin to snore. He felt himself jolted awake as Rangiku carefully began to remove the top part of his uniform. Closing his eyes, he let out a deep sigh as the sticky sweat was washed away.

Dry clothing was pulled on and he flopped back onto the bed. "Hey... Matsumoto. Can I ask you something?"

The woman reached out to brush a strand of hair away from his face. "Sure... go ahead."

"Did you know Ichimaru was my Secret Santa? Is that why you're mad at him?" The boy pulled his arms behind his head. This didn't last as he began to cough again and had to cover his mouth. As he did this he pulled his legs up to try and control the coughing fit.

Rangiku suddenly flinched. "Taicho, when did you find out?"

"The day before yesterday." Toshiro stopped coughing and took a deep breath.

"Taicho! You started feeling sick then!" Rangiku spoke up, causing him to snap his eyes open despite the headache he felt. Her pale eyes had a rather worried look on her face. She glanced over at his nightstand and he glanced over to see that she was looking at the CD player and CD. "I can't take this anymore. I should have put my foot down a lot sooner."

"Wait..."

The busty woman however was thinking in one direction. "There was a reason I told you not to go around seeing him. I don't trust him and he's gone and stressed you out and made you ill."

"Matsu..."

"Everything is going back. I'm not going to let him play any sort of game with you and I'm not going to let you be hurt anymore."

"But..."

"No buts. I know you want to be polite and such but I'm putting my foot down. It's going back to the forth division right now. I've got to go and get you some medicine anyways."

Toshiro let out a deep sigh and began to cough again. He twisted over onto his stomach after finishing. As soon as his hands touched something under his pillow he found his eyes suddenly going wide before he snapped his eyes shut. "You know what Matsumoto. Could you let me sleep."

"Sure thing. I feel as if I am forgetting something." The woman stood up and bustled out of the room.

As soon as the door clicked the small taicho opened his eyes back up and raised his head up, biting down on his lip slightly. He then pulled the book from underneath the pillow and sat up. One hand clapped onto his forehead. "I'm going to have to seriously talk to her when I feel better."

He then teetered over to his bookshelf and slipped it onto the shelf before heading back and collapsing back onto the bed.

**M**

Rangiku found Gin asleep in his bed and dropped a box on top of him. The silver haired man startled awake and lit a kido spell to see what was going on. He blinked a couple of times before looking up at her with narrowed eyes. "Rangiku... what is going on?"

"Taicho doesn't want any of your things anymore."

"How come I'm not hearing this from him but you?" Gin let the light go out and gathered the items up by the sense of touch.

"He's sick. Finding out that you were his Secret Santa stressed him out." Rangiku muttered. "Since I had to get medicine I figured I would dump this crap on you. I don't want him coming to visit you anymore. He's going to have a nice, calm life. Well, as calm of a life as he can have as a captain, but still."

"Uh huh." She couldn't see whether or not he was looking her in the face or not. "How he is doing?"

"I don't think that is any of your business." Rangiku then headed over to Unohana's quarters and knocked on the door.

The door slipped open. "Ahh. I take it that Hitsugaya Taicho isn't feeling well. I'll prepare some medicine to bring down the fever and help him rest."

Soon Rangiku was heading back with a small paper package. She made up a thing of tea and put one of the small packets into a cup of tea. As she walked down the hall, the tea cooled slightly. When she got to the room, she found her taicho sprawled on the bed without any covers over him. A slight cough caused her to let out a sigh.

She shook his shoulder and he woke up, blinking a couple of times. "I just want to sleep."

"I've gotten you some medicine that should help with the fever." She watched as the child taicho sat up and she held the cup to his mouth as he slowly drank the medicine down. Every so often she would nudge him awake or a cough would hit him. Finally, he flopped back onto his bed, finding himself to be exhausted. "Sleep well taicho."


	16. Day Sixteen

_Sun shown down upon the wooden walkway of the tenth division. Small feet walked across the wooden floor. The person turned around the corner and saw a silver haired man sitting on the pathway out of Matsumoto Rangiku's room. The man was reading a book and the person walked over and knelt down to look at the title of the book. The gold title read_ _ Oliver Twist _ _._

_A frown spread across the boy's face and he tugged at the fukutaicho badge he wore around his neck. "We haven't finished reading the other book Ichimaru."_

_The man suddenly pulled the book down, reveling a fox like smile and narrowed eyes. "I'm reading this book for my own enjoyment."_

" _Could we read that book next?" A small finger pointed at the book._

_The man continued with that strange look of his. "I don't get why you enjoy hearing me read out loud to ya. You like me or something?"_

" _Of course not. You're Matsumoto's friend and I like being read to, so you can't be that bad of a person." The boy wrapped his arms around his knees "What is that book about?_ _Can_ _we read that book next?"_

_The man suddenly frowned. "Little kids think in the strangest ways, don't they?"_

" _I'm_ _not_ _a little kid! I'm a fukutaicho you know."_

" _Oh, I know that Shiro-chan. You still say some interesting things." The man pulled the book up. "No. We aren't going to be reading this book next?"_

" _Eventyaually? Can you promise we'll read it eventually? Taicho likes listening to you read out loud too you know. And what is that book about?"_

_Gin pulled the book down. "I promise that I'll eventually read this book to you if you promise not to read it until I do. You need to be older for this one."_

" _Why?" The boy looked straight into the pale teal eyes that normally were hidden from him._

_The man simply pulled the book back up. "Because the book has a special meaning you'll understand when you're older."_

**M**

Toshiro found himself sitting up straight, his fever having broken. He brushed a stray lock of hair away from his face. "I remembered I had always never had the problems with Ichimaru like others did, but I forgot that he uses to sometimes read to me."

" _Possibly because he didn't have many chances to read to you because of his duties as a captain. And then you had more duties once you were a captain yourself._ "

The small taicho walked over to his shelf and turned on the small reading lamp. He pulled the book off the shelf. He opened I up to the cover and read the message that was written on the inside of the cover.

_I picked this book out for you because I think you can relate to Oliver's situation as you've gone through a similar situation yourself. I know that the book is used and worn around the edges, but it was important to me for you to have this particular copy of this book._

"He remembered." Toshiro blinked a couple of times as he swallowed, glancing up at Rangiku's room before glancing back down at the book. " _Ichimaru never does something without a reason. If he is going to play games with people he is straight forward about it. So I don't have reason to doubt his word when he says he has a reason for me to have this book._ "

He then lay onto his stomach and turned the book to where he left off and began to read without stopping. It was almost morning when the door between his room and Rangiku's suddenly opened. "Taicho! Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"My fever broke. I'm relaxing and not stressing myself out by reading a book." The small taicho turned another page without looking up at her

"What book are... taicho!" Toshiro glanced up at that explanation to see her looking at him with a rather horrified look on her face. She walked over and knelt in front of him, placing her hands on his. "I thought I got rid of all the stuff he gave you! I don't need him stressing you out. You'll just end up hurt again."

The white haired child pulled the book underneath him so she couldn't take it away. "I didn't give you permission to take everything back. That was not your decision to make."

The woman let out a deep sigh. "So you're angry at me for telling him no more?"

Two bright teal eyes suddenly looked up at her, a frown spreading on the child's face. "You didn't have the right to say anything about that either. If you don't want me to get sick from becoming stressed out then just keep Hinamori away from me instead."

"What are you talking about?" Rangiku suddenly touched her shoulder. "I promise I won't take your book away. Just tell me what is going on."

Toshiro let out a deep sigh. "Hinamori's the one who told me Ichimaru was my Secret Santa."

"Well... wasn't it because you were upset finding out he's... well, you know."

"No. I tried getting her to talk to me about what went on during the Winter War again. She'd picked up my gift from that day and when she got angry she slammed it down on my desk. I got mad at her for that and I made the mistake of saying that..." Toshiro closed his eyes and buried his head into his arms.

He felt Rangiku touch the back of his head to calm him down. "What did you say?"

"It's just, I know everyone is going to say there is no way that Ichimaru cares about me one way or another. I honestly don't care one way or another, but I honestly believed someone cared enough for me to do this Secret Santa business. When I told her I believed that she told me that the person behind it didn't care. That's when she told me who it was."

"She..."

"And that isn't all that happened. I tried grabbing the present from her and the packaging ripped. She then told me that I adored him like she did Aizen and I was no different from her. Can I get back to reading my book? I'd like to be able to go and visit him for lunch today if I feel up to it. I think I'll also be taking a few days off."

"Yeah... sure." A few minutes later however she came back. "Taicho... Ukitake Taicho is coming to see you. You should possibly get dressed."

"Uh-huh." Toshiro didn't notice as Rangiku bit her lip and she suddenly found herself tugging him into a sitting position. His eyes were glued to the book as she tugged off the dirty night clothing and then pulled on a fresh uniform. Ukitake came around the corner as she was doing this.

"Good afternoon Hitsugaya Taicho. I was hoping you would feel up to some sweets." The man stated.

"Good afternoon Ukitake." The small taicho only had a few pages left. "Thank you for the sweets."

"You seem to be enjoying your book. It has been awhile since you've been able to read a full book all the way through." The white haired taicho watched as Toshiro shut the book and then look right at the man while Rangiku pulled on the small haori.

"Is Ichimaru giving up on the whole Secret Santa thing because Rangiku told him to?"

"He..." The man closed his eyes and let out "He's back to not eating anything. He's under the assumption you wanted it to end though."

Toshiro frowned before moving to where he could put his sandals on. "I apologize for not being a good host Ukitake, but I think I should go see him."

"No... it is all right. I'm personally glad you're handling this better then I thought you would."

The small taicho pulled the book under his arm. "Thank you for worrying about me. Also, thank you for not making a big deal out of what he's doing in relation to me. Even if his intentions aren't good I think it is wrong not to give him a chance."

"That's one of the things that make you who you are. Just be sure not to push yourself too much and make yourself sick again."

"I won't." Toshiro then headed towards the forth division, hearing as he left Rangiku saying something to the thirteenth division taicho about how her small taicho wasn't exactly pleased wit h her. He went into Ichimaru's room and saw the man in the window looking out. Letting out a deep sigh, he held out the book. "Ichimaru..."

The man glanced up and looked at the book, taking it from Toshiro. "So you're wanting me to take this back too?"

"No... I didn't." Toshiro closed his eyes. "Look, I didn't ask Matsumoto to bring those things back. I didn't mean to say the things I did the other day either. I've been looking forward to the Secret Santa gifts from you and I didn't want it to end. The person I was upset with was Hinamori and I really don't want to talk about that."

"Can I ask why you're handing me the book then?"

"Because you promised a long time ago to read the book to me."

Gin suddenly startled and looked at the boy with his pale teal eyes. "You remember that? I spent very little time with you."

"I know that I promised not to read the book until then, but the note you left in the front of the book tells me you wanted me to read it before I figured out you were doing this. Maybe you were hoping I would remember something like I have."

The man opened the book up and looked at his own note. "I wasn't hoping that you would remember anything or not."

"Can I ask what it is you want from me and why you're doing this?" Toshiro glanced away.

"I don't want anything from you. I don't expect you to forgive me or even open up to me." Ichimaru suddenly stood up and head over to the bed in the room and sat down.

"I guess the better question would be whether or not you care about me. I won't be upset if you say no, but I think I would like to get an answer." The boy glanced up to see that Gin had stopped from pulling a box from underneath the bed. The man simply set the book on top of the bed.

"These are the things Rangiku brought by, not to mention the present from yesterday and the day before are in there." The silver haired man handed a package shaped like a CD and a small box. "The smaller package was supposed to be yesterdays but you may want to open it up."

"Ichimaru..." The boy narrowed his own eyes at the man.

"You want an answer to your question and to be honest you deserve one." Gin folded his legs onto the bed. "If I were to say yes at this point in time there are a few people who would misinterpret that as meaning I'm a pedophile so I would like to answer that question at a later date. I think it is something you're smart enough to figure out on your own."

"Uh huh." Toshiro sat down on the bed and glared at the man. "I heard from Ukitake that you weren't eating the last couple of days. You weren't upset that I told you I hate you and some of the other things happened?"

"No... I knew you didn't mean it." Ichimaru let out a laugh. "You could say I had a few other things on my mind. Don't worry about it. When you open the presents I'll start reading. Though I do need Ukitake to still deliver them."

"I'll just pretend after today that I don't know yet." The small taicho opened up the small box and found a set of relaxation balls. The other item was a CD. Gin then handed him a bigger package that was for that day. The small taicho opened it up and found himself looking at a big book. When he opened up the pages, he found sketches of him and Rangiku, some of which were of younger versions then he was familiar with.

"Did you draw these Ichimaru?" Toshiro glanced up, but Gin simply opened the book and began to read.


	17. Day Seventeen

Ukitake walked towards Toshiro's room with a rather large package under his arm. He came to the boy's room and knocked on the door. The white haired child glanced up from his bed where he was reading a book and listening to music. He hadn't taken the time to change into his normal clothing, but this didn't seem to bother him as he glanced up. "Is that book the one Gin gave you?"

"No... that book is Oliver Twist." The small taicho sat up with a smile on his face.

"Now why would Gin give you that book?" The man shook his head.

"I'm not quite sure, but I have a feeling I'll find out by the end of this. I doubt he is doing it for no reason. Plus, he said I could relate to Oliver for some strange reason." Toshiro glanced back down at the book.

"So, the characters match up with the people you know?" Ukitake asked rather quickly, going over to sit on the edge of the bed, setting down the package next to the white haired child.

"I doubt Gin would make it that obvious for me." The boy placed a bookmark into the book he was reading. He picked up the package and opened it up. The book happened to have recent photographs featuring him with other people. A deep sigh caused him to look up at the thirteenth division taicho. "Is something the matter Ukitake."

"I'm a little bothered by the fact many of these pictures are taken from a distance, as if someone was spying on you." The man flipped the album to the last page.

"So?"

"I've always been a little bothered by the fact Gin is showering his attention on you like he is. He's never really gotten close to anyone other then Rangiku."

"Speaking of which, can I show you what he gave me yesterday?" Toshiro slipped off the bed and brought back the album.

Ukitake found himself frowning at the pictures. "So, do you have any idea what he wants from you?"

"No... well, I have an idea." The boy was looking at the photo album from the beginning. "I know that you and Rangiku don't believe that Ichimaru cares about me, but his actions say otherwise. What he wants from me... what I think he wants from me may very well be just wishful thinking on my part. But it would be nice, and I really don't want it taken away again. All of this would have been more of a surprise if..."

"I heard from your fukutaicho how a certain someone blabbed certain things she shouldn't have. Are you..."

"Don't. I've given up trying to fix things with her."


	18. Day Eighteen

Kyoraku Taicho lay on the floor with his hat over his head and a bottle of sake next to him. He suddenly heard a rather irritated sound and he pushed his hat up to see Nanao glaring at him with her clipboard. "Ukitake Taicho is here to see you."

"Oh... why don't you come on over." The eighth division taicho waved him over and Ukitake sat down near his friend.

"You're aware about the fact Ichimaru Gin has been playing Secret Santa for Hitsugaya Taicho?" The man asked, frowning as he did so.

"I've been aware as long as you have. Unohana didn't have a problem with it so I didn't see a reason to worry." The man pushed his hat down. "Yet I take it something is worrying you?"

"Why wouldn't he be worried about this? Ichimaru Gin is not known for making friends with people. The only one has been Matsumoto Rangiku and even that wasn't a very good relationship." The woman glared at her taicho but he choose to ignore the woman.

"Yesterdays present was an album of pictures of Hitsugaya Taicho that I believe Gin took before he left. I don't think the taicho of the tenth was aware that pictures were being taken of him and he doesn't seem to have noticed that these pictures were taken without his knowledge. Even if he did realize they were taken without his knowledge I don't think he understands the implications."

"So you're basically saying that man's been stalking Rangiku's small taicho?" Nanao's voice suddenly strained.

Kyoraku let out a deep sigh. "Now, now... Ichimaru stalked everyone. He could possibly have pictures of everyone of us."

"So you're just going to let this creepy behavior slide?" The woman snapped her words out.

Kyoraku titled his hat up. "I guess I should have a word with him."

"When Rangiku hears..."

"Don't tell her. She's likely to say something to Shiro-chan. He's already been sick because of Hinamori Momo stressing him out. I'd like to solve this without him getting wind that something might be wrong." The man gave her a weak smile.

"Plus..." Kyoraku stood up. "It is only right to give the man a chance. Keep in mind Unohana and Yamamtto Taicho are well aware of what is going on and they wouldn't have approved this whole Secret Santa business if they had our concerns. Which means they know more then we do."

The two taicho headed to the forth division and they found Ichimaru sitting on the bed reading a book from his personal collection. The one he had given Toshiro was on the stand next to him. He glanced up when he saw the two enter the room. "Ukitake, Kyoraku... I see you've come to visit. I know why Ukitake Taicho's come to visit, but I haven't had a visit from you yet."

Kyoraku simply went and set in the window and tilted his hat down. "I'm going to ask if you have any ill intentions towards the small taicho."

Ichimaru closed his book and set it down. "If I had my way he won't come to any harm."

"But you aren't sure that he won't get hurt?" Ukitake shook his head in disbelief.

"I believe there were concerns at one point about how he would feel once he found out I was his Secret Santa. It's kind of like that, but not something I can go into."

Kyoraku tilted up his hat and looked right at the younger silver haired man. "So... you don't trust us with whatever it is you're hiding from us? The fact you have a bunch of pictures of the kiddo that are taken without him knowing is a bit... worrisome."

"I followed lots of people." Ichimaru spoke up. "The reason I stalked him wasn't for any bad reason."

"Ouch. Gin, you really shouldn't admit that you were stalking someone." Th eighth division taicho tilted his hat down, letting out a deep sigh.

"I would feel more comfortable if you explained to me what is going on." Ukitake frowned at the silver haired man.

"Not yet. I promise you that you'll know why I'm doing this in a bit of time. You'll actually know before Ran and Shiro-chan actually." Gin pulled out a package before going back to reading his book.

"You mean Rangiku doesn't know yet?" Kyoraku shook his head in disbelief. "Do you really think it is a good idea to wait until the last moment to tell her?"

"She might forbid me from telling him. Actually, there is a high chance she won't believe what I tell her. There is a high chance she'll want to kill me many times over."

"You are a glutton for punishment." The eighth division taicho let out a sigh.

"Not to mention no matter what we say is going to cause you to change your mind." Ukitake then found himself headed towards the tenth division. Kyoraku changed the subject, but they soon came to the room. He found the small taicho sketching in his sketchbook. "Have you tried your watercolors yet?"

"So far I'm not doing well with them. It all turned to mud." The boy glanced up. His eyes went wide upon seeing Kyoraku taicho and he hopped off the side of his bed and ducked down slightly so the man wouldn't noticed that he wasn't dressed.

"Nah... its alright Hitsugaya Taicho. I'm rather intruding upon your personal quarters."

Ukitake handed the package over to the small taicho and he tore the package open to reveal another photo album. "Another?"

"This one is different." Toshiro stated without opening it.

"How do you know?" Kyoraku let out a sudden laugh.

"Because the previous album were all pictures from my captain's ceremony to right before Gin left, these pictures are going to be from before that time. " The small taicho opened the album and then turned it around and pointed at a picture. "See, this one is from when I was a student at the academy."

Ukitake leaned forward, blinking a couple of times. "You're right."

"Seems Hitsugaya Taicho knows or understands something we don't get." Kyoraku reached up to scratch his head. "Do you mind telling us?"

An excited look came to the bright teal eyes only for Toshiro to clamp his mouth shut and frown instead. He shook his head. "It's still just wishful thinking on my part. You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Rangiku wouldn't either and she would throw a fit."

"But you can tell us it isn't anything bad, right?"

"Don't worry. It's actually something very good."

Both of the older taicho suddenly found themselves looking at each other in confusion.


	19. Day Nineteen

Toshiro woke up that morning and found himself stretching his limbs. " _Is there a chance Hyorinmaru that what I believe Ichimaru is up to isn't going to turn out to be what I believe it is?_ "

" _I think what you believe to be true is true._ " The dragon let out a soft laugh.

" _Are you just telling me that so I don't get my hopes dashed? You know that if it isn't true I'm eventually going to get them dashed anyways._ " The boy stood up and got dressed rather then remaining in bed. He headed to the tenth division garden with his sketchbook and the book he head been reading. He sat down as the sun began to rise over the traditional garden and the shadows slowly changed.

A few hours later Ukitake came by and sat on the bench next to the small taicho. "While I am still a bit concerned about what is going on, I have to admit that I'm enjoying the positive changes it is having on you. Normally you don't take time off."

"This is the normal amount of time Unohana makes her patients take off after being sick. I'm just taking her advice without her having to give it."

This statement from the small taicho caused the white haired man to let out a laugh as he handed him the package. "I hope today's gift is as enjoyable for you as the others have been." The smile however left the man's face when he saw that the gift was another photo album.

Toshiro seemed quite happy and opened it up slightly. However, the boy quickly snapped the cover shut, his eyes going wide and a look of surprise spreading across his face. Ukitake found himself nudging the younger taicho. "Hitsugaya Taicho, is something the matter."

To his surprise, the boy looked up at him with a smile on his face. "No. I'm quite sure he's doing this for the reason he's doing it for the reasons I think he's doing it. Other wise right now I'm dreaming."

"Could I possibly see the pictures?" the man asked, only to find the child taicho shaking his small head at him.

"I _really_ don't want this dashed. Do you mind if I go and look at this by myself first." The boy stated.

"I'm wanting this to be over with."

"Don't worry, tomorrow should be the last day." The small taicho's words startled Ukitake. Toshiro then headed off towards his room. He flopped down onto the bed and opened up to the album. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, before pinching his arm and snapping them open. "It isn't a dream. These pictures are real."

" _Of course they are real,"_ his dragon said with a laugh.

" _There is only one way he could have gotten these pictures. Do you think Rangiku already knows?_ "

" _How could she? I think she's been to mad at him to let him tell her. That, or he's been holding off telling her."_

" _But she out of everybody should know about what is going on. But..._ " Toshiro closes his eyes before opening them to look at the various pictures. " _He had to have known me back before I entered the academy. He_ _had_ _to have known me as an infant. Which means my believe that I died and came to soul society was wrong._ "

He found himself pulling the pictures out one by one an examining them. Some were of him as a small baby, while others were pictures of him once he was older. To his surprise, Gin was in some of the pictures despite the fact there were not many. There was also a note at the beginning of the album. " _I had to keep these pictures hidden from a certain someone for many years. It is important that you have them._ "


	20. Happy Birthday (Part 1)

_Dear Shiro-chan and Ran-chan_

_The two of you are likely wondering why I've gone through the trouble of playing Secret Santa for Shiro-chan. Today 's Secret Santa gift is to let the two of you know the truth. A long time ago Ran-chan lost her memories, so don't hold it against her for not knowing or remembering the truth. The truth is Ran-chan is your mother and I amd your father._

_Aizen is the person who took Ran-chan's memories away. I tried getting them back, but obviously I've failed. The point of this was so Shiro-chan can know the truth which he deserves to know in a manner that is easy for him to intake. No, you weren't born in the living world. No, you didn't die upon a plain of ice. You were born in the north during the winter. Your inner world is also a plain of ice._

_Now, I am not looking for forgiveness. I would say easily that the greatest crime I've commited was keeping the two of you apart. Again, the whole point of this is so you both can know the truth and so it will be easier for Shiro-chan to handle. Happy Birthday Shiro-chan,_

_Sincerely,  
Ichimaru Gin_

Ukitake read over the letter a few times, his mouth opening and closing as he attempted to say something. Nothing came out of his mouth due to the shock. He handed the letter back to Gin. He watched as the man placed the letter in an envelope before sealing it. "So?"

The man took a deep breath. "How can any of that be true?"

"Because it is true." Gin found his words met with a few minutes. He let out a deep sigh. "I guess you want a better explanation?"

"I'm not taking this letter to them until I do." Ukitake shook his head at the young man.

"Ran and I had Shiro-chan when we were really young and naive. While he isn't a mistake the time that we had him was Aizen began creating that abomination. Rangiku got caught up and hurt. She wished to forget and that thing granted her wish. She forget everything. Me... and Shiro-chan."

Ukitake's eyes went wide and his mouth twisted up into a frown. "You went after Aizen to reverse her wish? That's rather childish as you didn't know if it would work or not."

"I mistakenly thought it would work."

"I'm not finished! You should have come to us for help! This is one of the most illogical things I've heard! The only person I know of who would think like this..." The white haired taicho slapped a hand over his mouth realizing whose name he was going to bring up.

"You just realized how much the two of us are alike." Gin's tone was dark and depressing.

"I've noticed similarities between the two of you before I always thought you were just..." Ukitake let out a deep breath. "I assumed your interest in the small taicho resulted from a bit of jealousy because you thought Rangiku was favoring him. Which she wasn't mind you, but that is how I thought you felt about him."

"That's how I wanted people to see things. Particularly Aizen." Gin suddenly flopped against the headboard. "If he can't use a child genius he'll find a way to destroy them."

Ukitake closed his eyes and sat down. "You're saying he had something to do with Kaien's death?"

"I'm sorry for not telling you that sooner." The silver man stated.

"I'm more worried about you. _This_... this is why you've been depressed this whole time and why you haven't been getting better. Well, there have been points that you've been getting better, but I can't help but notice even _that_ was related to all of this." The taicho of the thirteenth division folded his arms across his chest. "If you don't take care of yourself, you'll only end up worrying him you know."

"This is your way of telling me to take better care of myself without ordering me to do so." Gin shook his head. "I'm not a little kid anymore."

"Actually, as far as I'm concerned you are still a child. Sure, there are areas you've grown up, but there are places you haven't been able to." Ukitake let out a deep breath. "Your son has the same problem, a problem we've been trying to work with him on. Just keep that in mind. I'll be by to speak with you later. Conversations should be easier."

**M**

Toshiro sat at his desk. A photo album was sitting in one spot as he worked away at his paper work, humming to the music he was listening to. Rangiku was sitting at her desk filing away at her nails. Ukitake came into the room and knocked on the door frame. "Good morning Hitsugaya Taicho."

"Ukitake!" Toshiro's head darted up.

"Happy birthday to you Shiro-chan."

"A happy birthday to you too, though it is a day early." The boy remained in a good mood. He bit his lip and looked at the man's hand and the envelope that was in his hand.

Ukitake glanced over at Rangiku. "He wished for you to read this letter out loud. Actually, the letter is for both of you."

The busty woman let out a deep sigh. "Now, I haven't said anything about the other gifts he's given taicho, but he doesn't have the right to drag me into this mess."

"It's rather important that you read this letter Rangiku." The man felt the corner of his mouth twitch. Glancing over at Toshiro, he found that the young taicho was simply watching the two. He had moved to the edge of his seat. "Plus..."

Rangiku glanced over at her small taicho. "All right, I'll read it out loud." She then began to read the letter out loud. " _The two of you are likely wondering why I've gone through the trouble of playing Secret Santa for Shiro-chan._ " The woman let out a deep sigh. "Well, of course we've been wondering why."

"I haven't. I've figured it out."

The woman blinked a couple of times, before continuing with the letter. " _A long time ago Ran-chan lost her memories..._ " The woman let out a deep breath of irritation. "Now that is personal, I don't see... oh." The fukutaicho of the tenth division continued reading the letter. "... _so don't hold it against her for not knowing or remembering the truth. The truth is Ran-chan is..._ "

Toshiro and Ukitake watched as her face twisted up in horror. The small taicho blinked a couple of times, watching as she skimmed the letter rapidly, her eyes darting back and forth. "Hey... Matsumoto..."

"I'm going to kill him." The woman crumpled the letter up in her hand. "I can't believe he would do something like this!"

"Matsumoto!"

Rangiku turned to look at Toshiro, giving him a look of pity. "Taicho, I'll handle this. I'm not going to let you get hurt by his lies."

"How do you know they are lies!" The small taicho shook his head, his voice trembling slightly. Instead of getting an answer he saw her suddenly take off. "Matsumoto!" The small taicho of the tenth suddenly stood up. "I've got to go after her."

"You don't know what was going to be said." The man felt the corner of his mouth twitch.

"But I do know..."

"There isn't any proof that his word is true though." The man let out a deep sigh, only to see Toshiro glance at the album before picking it up and shoving it towards the man.

"The proof is right there." Toshiro suddenly found himself hurrying out of the room.

Ukitake opened up the album and his jaw dropped upon seeing the pictures. "You really should have planned all of this better Gin-kun."

**M**

The small taicho sped towards the forth division and then headed through the forth division. He knocked a few members over and gave them a quick apology. He turned the corner in time to hear Rangiku yelling at Gin. "How _dare_ you try to tell my small taicho lies about me and you being his parents!"

"They aren't lies Ran-chan."

" _Don't_ Ran-chan me!" The woman was furious. "Do you even understand how important the concept of family is for him? I'm not going to let you get his hopes up and only to turn around and tell him it is all just a lie you concocted to watch his hopes up."

Toshiro took a deep breath. "But it isn't a lie Matsumoto."

The woman turned to look at him, her eyes wide with horror. "Taicho... how can you believe that is true."

"Because it is." The words came out of his mouth and he looked at her. "Please... give him a chance. Please give us a chance. I mean..."

"Taicho! He's known for spewing lies left and right." Rangiku moved over and held his face in his hands. "I can't verify that what he says is true, and... if it isn't true who do you think is going to get hurt the most."

"You?" The small taicho frowned, his own eyes looking at her in worry.

"No silly... you're... oh, never mind. I need to go and think about this." Rangiku touched his cheek lightly.

"But... shouldn't you be talking things out with him." Toshiro grabbed her hands and tugged the woman over to Ichimaru's bed. He stopped upon noticing the look the man was giving him.

The fukutaicho of the tenth division suddenly forced the small taicho to look at her straight in the face. "Taicho, do you remember the day I told you to get out of the office because I was so angry at Gin I thought I would take my frustration out on you? This is just like that day. You're the last person in this world I want to hurt. Please give me a chance to calm down and think things through."

Toshiro opened his mouth, only to find a finger placed over it. Rangiku then slipped out of the room. He could feel his hands shake and he wrapped his arms around himself. Two arms reached from behind him and suddenly pulled him close. A bony hand covered his eyes so that he could calm down. A hot breath was close to his ear. "Well... this isn't the way I wanted things to occur."

"I..." The small taicho tried calming his mind down to a slower rate, but instead found that words simply couldn't come out of his mouth.

"Look, it is all right to cry when you are sad. It is better to do that then bottle the emotions up and make yourself sick. Goodness knows I don't like it when you are ill."


	21. Happy Birthday (Part 2)

_him_? Haineko purred.

"Taicho! He's known for spewing lies left and right. I can't verify that what he says is true, and... if it isn't true who do you think is going to get hurt the most." Rangiku was surprised at his response and reached out and touched his cheek gently. "No silly... you're... oh, never mind. I need to go and think about this."

She then found herself heading back to the tenth division. She found Ukitake sitting at Toshiro's desk glancing through what seemed to be a photo album. He glanced up when Rangiku entered the room and noted the fact she was pushing her lips together in frustration. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Have you talked things over with Gin?"

"He's lying to taicho."

"Are you sure about that?" Ukitake closed the book and stood up. "Unohana was in on this Rangiku. I don't think she would have allowed this if she suspected that what he said to her wasn't true."

"Yes. But there is no proof." The woman leaned against the doorway and placed her fingers on her mouth as she closed her eyes.

"Toshiro handed me this before he left. It is one of the gifts Gin gave him. The thing is, seeing it will likely make you even more upset with Gin rather then making you feel better." The man walked over and handed the photo album over.

The woman opened it up and the horrified look on her face returned. "How did Gin come by pictures of taicho when he was a child?" She flipped a few more pages and she snapped it closed. Her eyes closed. "There is a picture in here of Gin."

"There are quite a few pictures of Gin in there, but mostly it is an album of pictures of Toshiro when he was to young to remember Gin coming by and visiting."

"This just means that Gin knew taicho as a child." Rangiku closed her eyes. "Taicho remembers dying on a plain of ice."

"Look at the pictures again Rangiku." The man opened the book up to the first page. "How old does he look in this and how old does Gin look for that matter?"

"Taicho is an infant in this picture." The woman found herself biting on her lip. She then sat down on the couch and buried her face in her hands before sobbing.

Ukitake patted her on the shoulder. "I'll go make you some tea. If you want, I can call Nanao over and she can go hurt Gin for you."

"I don't know if I can face her. I had a child out of wedlock and pretty much abandoned him." Rangiku continued sobbing.

"I had better send word for her to get over here." The man left the room.

The next thing Rangiku knew the trey was clinking down on the coffee table. "Rangiku?"

"I've sorry. I..." The woman's head came up and she tried wiping her tears away. "What did Ukitake tell you?"

"Nothing. He just said you were really upset and needed a friend to talk to." The woman wrapped her arms around Rangiku's shoulder. "Please, tell me what is going on?"

"I..." The busty female reached over to the table and picked up the photo album. "Take a look at this. I can't say it out loud. Particularly after what I said to taicho earlier. I don't know what to do."

The woman leaned back and opened the photo album. She then pushed up her glasses. "These are pictures of your taicho when he was a baby. How did you get them?" She turned a few more pages before pausing. "Never mind. That man was involved. He's really good at breaking your heart, isn't he?"

"I'm more worried about taicho though."

Nanao snapped the book shut. "That would be because you're his mother. You and I've both known that you've instinctively acted like a mother hen around him, but you don't do it with other children. Drink some tea. It will help you calm down. Not that I blame you for acting the way you are."

Rangiku picked up a cup and took a sip. She closed her eyes. "What I did was pretty much abandoning him though."

"Did you?" The other woman picked up her own cup. "The way I see it you for some reason don't remember that you are his mother, and yet when he needed you the most you some how managed to find him and your instinct kicked in. Ever since then you've remained by his side. I wouldn't call that abandonment. Still..."

"Something is bothering you."

"I'm bothered by the fact Gin kept Toshiro from you all this time, but then again if my calculations are right Toshiro would have been born..." Nanao paled and her cheeks flushed up. "Wait... by my calculations he's not just an illegitimate child you had him when you were babes yourself."

Rangiku remained silent. The woman glanced over. "I mean..."

"I know that you didn't mean it as an insult. I did the calculation as well."

"Well, Gin would have been dealing with Aizen and all of Soul Society now knows that he was playing the role of a double traitor. He had to have planned it from the beginning and didn't want to drag either of you in. But..." Nanao frowned. "What bothers me is the fact he could have very well left Aizen alone and the three of you lived out your lives as if nothing happened. Unless of course Aizen was the reason for you losing your memories."

"So what do I do now." Rangiku took another drink of her tea.

"We'll finish the tea and go shopping."

The busty female turned to look at the woman. "I'm not in the mood for shopping for myself. I prefer doing that when I want to reward myself."

"No, no." Nanao waved her hand. "Today's your son's birthday and Christmas is coming up so we'll go and get him a present that comes from the heart. We can also pick up a birthday cake as well and some other goodies for Christmas. We'll work on turning this around so it is a positive thing for both of you, though we still have to deal with Gin and those moods of his."


	22. Happy Birthday (Part 3)

The first thing out of Kyoraku's mouth when Nanao called to ask for permission to go to the living world was that they could easily get permission from Hitsugaya Taicho which led to the woman chewing him out over the phone about how she wouldn't be asking him if they could ask the small taicho. He finally gave permission and they headed to the living world.

When they got to Karakura Town the two of them headed to the down town shopping district. Rangiku found herself suddenly smiling when she saw the decorations. "I've always wanted to celebrate Christmas with Taicho. I know it is a bit late to get a tree this year, but maybe next year we can have a tree that the two of us can decorate together."

"Let's stop at the bakery first and see if we can get him a birthday cake as well as other goodies for Christmas. One of the advantages of him having his birthday when he does is that whatever goodies we get today will still be good come Christmas." The two headed over to the bakery and began looking over the treats.

Rangiku glanced at the various cakes. "I'm not sure what kind of cake he would like."

"Chocolate is always a good option as everyone likes chocolate." Nanao leane forward. "There is one over here with icy blue flowers and your division flower."

"Oh... I think that one will do."

"Anything that you want to written on the cake? I'll take it to the back as soon as you finish your purchases."

"Happy Birthday of course." Rangiku moved over to the Christmas cookies.

"So whose birthday is it?"

"My child." The busty female brushed her hair away from her ear as she continued to look at the various treats.

"She'll like this cake," the man behind the counter said.

Rangiku suddenly started. "She is a he."

The man blinked a couple of times. "Most of..."

"My son isn't a normal child. He is mature for his age and you could say the flowers have special meaning for the two of us." She then looked at the various cookies. "I would like to also get some gingerbread cookies, some of those sugar cookie wreathes and the peppermint biscotti."

"How about some of these chocolate cookies as well." Nanao pointed at some of the other cookies. Once they had gotten a bigger variety of the cookies they headed towards the candy shop and picked up various candies including Toshiro's favorite.

They then headed over to a bookstore to pick out the boy's gifts. Rangiku found herself frowning at the various books. "This would be so much easier if he was a normal child and interested in toys and games. Though next year I think I'll get him a game system and a few games so he can be more normal."

"And how are you going to figure out what games he likes?" Nanao shook her head at the other woman before picking up a few books. "He'll likely like some of the classics. Have you ever gotten him to read Manga?"

"I've given him a few in the past, but I almost never see him reading them."

"You actually see him reading them?" The other woman's head titled up in surprise.

"I guess him actually reading them would be a surprise, but I never thought of it being unusual due to the fact he is a child and should be doing some things."

"Why not get him the next in the series then?"

"I think I'll stick to the classical novels. I think getting him a game system is wishful thinking on my part, but then he did enjoy the CD player that Gin got him."

"Listening to music isn't exactly a childish thing to do you know." Nanao picked out the books for her and they headed out. "Why don't we get some crepes? There is a stand over there."

The two moved over and each got a treat for themselves before going and sitting down. The two remained quite for a few bites and then Rangiku spoke up. "I wasn't able to put my finger on it, but I have to admit that I'm jealous of Gin right now."

"Why? Because he's gotten on your son's good side right now? I honestly think Toshiro prefers you for a parent."

"That isn't what I mean. I missed out on seeing taicho... Toshiro's first steps and many of those other little things, but Gin happened to be there for those moments. He also knows what taicho likes and doesn't like way better then I do. I mean, I bet he could pick out games for taicho without much thought and he would get it right. I struggle to get stuff that taicho likes."

"You tried calling him by his first name, but you slipped into calling him taicho Rangiku." Nanao let out a deep sigh. "Gin's missed out some stuff as well you know."

"Like what?"

"Well, myself along with my taicho and Ukitake have noticed how he has matured since the Winter War. He's grown up and matured quite a bit." The woman took a bit of her crepe. "You also told me how you think he has a crush on Kurosaki Ichigo's little sister."

"Yeah, but I'm not sure how I like that idea," the female folded her arms across her chest. "I mean, I was and still am excited about him finally hitting puberty and crushing on a girl, but I hadn't put much mind to him wanting to date someone as I knew I wouldn't have any say. I guess I should be happy that his focus is on Karin and that he's not tempted to get into a relationship that is way over his head."

"He may still try to get into a relationship that is over his head and he may not be crushing on her like you think she is."

"Yeah... he could honestly be telling me the truth when he says they are just friends." Rangiku took another bite of her treat. "But you know, that's another thing Gin's missed out on while he was gone."

"You know what? I may not like the man, but I think the reason he took the pictures was because he knew you were missing out on those moments and wanted to share them with out." Nanao frowned. "Good grief... thinking about him as a caring person feels weird."

"I'm used to it." The busty female brushed some of her hair aside. "So I don't think I'm going to be able to stay mad at him due to the fact I now know he is the person I thought he was despite the fact he hid stuff from me."


	23. Happy Birthday (Part 4)

When Rangiku and Nanao arrived back in Soul Society they set their packages onto the coffee table in the division office. The busty female then separated the cake and birthday present from the Christmas goodies and placed them in a bag. Her friend carefully packed everything else up in a nice neat fashion. "Do you need me to come with you?"

"No, I think I need to do this myself." The female stood up and headed to the division's kitchens to grab a few plates as well as utensils. She could feel her throat tightening and she knew this wouldn't be easy for her. She arrived at the forth division and walked through the hall, the feeling she had in her chest increasing as she went.

She found herself stopping outside of the door. She looked in as she clutched the plates to her chest and took in the occupants of the room. Gin was sitting up with his arms cross behind his back and his eyes closed. Toshiro on the other hand was lying next to the man, one hand being used as a pillow for his head.

Letting out a deep sigh she headed into the room and watched as Gin opened one eye. "You seem to have calmed down."

"I thought about some stuff and Ukitake showed me the photo album that you put together." Rangiku found herself swallowing.

"Do you want to talk about our situation?" The silver haired man closed his eyes.

"No... I don't want to get into another argument in front of him."

"I'm not going to argue with you."

Rangiku found herself taking a deep breath. "But I may raise my voice, and it seems as if he is asleep."

The man turned his head to look at the child next to him. "I don't think Shiro-chan has recovered completely from his illness."

"Ahh... well..." The woman found herself swallowing. "He tends to... well... I guess I should be doing better and making sure his health is better taken care of."

Gin's pale teal eyes suddenly opened and he frowned. "Don't go guilt tripping on him just because ya think you haven't been as good of a mother as you could be Ran-chan. You are believe it or not a wonderful mother to him and you did that without even knowing you were his mother."

"Yes, but..." The woman closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I've been letting my anger with you get in the way of me thinking rationally."

"Yes... you have hurt his feelings."

"Gin!" Rangiku snapped his name only to watch as her son moved slightly. "Umm..."

"I get that you had to cool your head, but he's confused as to why you haven't talked to me." The silver haired man removed his arms from behind his head and sat up. "But honestly, you can't do anything about that and there will always be things that are out of your control."

"Like you hiding him from me." The woman could feel her throat tighten in a different manner.

"Just like me hiding him from you. You are a great mother."

"Yes, but..." Rangiku took another deep breath only to see a bright teal eye open to look at her.

"I can hear the two of you very well."

The woman found her mouth twitching. "Did you, umm... enjoy your nap."

"Please don't patronize me." Toshiro suddenly sat up only to have the back of his head flicked by Gin. He turned to look at the man in irritation. "What was that for?"

"She's your mother, don't talk to her like that."

"Yeah, but..." The boy took a deep breath. "What I mean is that you don't have to change your tone with me and become over bearing. Ichimaru is right in saying that you're a good mother Matsumoto. You've always taken care of me."

The woman walked over and set her items down on the night stand. One of her hands reached out to touch his forehead. "You have a slight fever."

"I told her I didn't think he fully recovered from being sick," Gin said.

Rangiku reached out and brushed a lock of hair away from Toshiro's forehead. "Perhaps..."

Toshiro pushed her hand away. "I got sick because I was too stressed out. I'll stress out again if you hover over me and baby me. If the two of you don't argue in front of me I should be fine."

"Unless of course you have to deal with Momo-chan." The silver haired man frowned. "I'm not in a situation where I can do something and even if I was able to do something I don't think I'm the best person to come up with a solution."

The boy let out a deep sigh and reached his small hands up to grip his hair. "I don't want to even _think_ about what you would do."

"I'll see what I can do. I'll get Nanao to help as well. It's time this stops."

"Can we please change the subject. I really don't want to talk about Hinamori." The boy closed his eyes. "How about how we're going to handle things from here."

"Gin and I need to discuss some things first."

Toshiro's eyes snapped open and he found himself glaring at her. "I don't have a say."

"Some of the decisions we have to make are going to have to be based on how well the two of us get along as well as work with each other." Rangiku crossed her arms before looking over at the cake she had brought. She loosened hear arms up and reached down for the bag. "More important, today is a special day."

The boy let out a sound of exasperation. "I know. It's my birthday."

"I went and got you a birthday cake." The woman frowned as she pulled out the box.

"Why?" The tone Toshiro was using changed from one of irritation to one of surprise and confusion.

Rangiku looked up, her own surprise spreading across her face. "Because I'm your mother." She watched as the boy suddenly frowned, the confusion obviously growing. "It's what a parent is supposed to do when their child has a birthday if they are able to. So, consider it the first step to things being normal for us, at least as normal as things will ever be."

"There is more to it I think." The boy folded his arms across his chest. "Where exactly did the tradition of having a birthday cake come in? Or getting presents. Or any tradition for that matter."

Instead of getting an answer he was given a piece of cake to eat.


	24. Happy Birthday (Part 5)

Ukitake leaned back on the palm of his hands and let the breeze from the pond blow over him. His eyes were closed until he heard the sound of two small feet coming his way. He watched as a small figure knelt partially out of sight and he found a smile spreading across his face. "I know you're there Shiro-chan. Come in. There is no reason for introductions."

The small taicho then scooted in so he remained on his knees and slowly brought a package with him before settling down onto a pillow. "I came to see you. You're birthday is the day after mine, or should I say that my birthday is the day before yours since you're older then me."

The man let out a soft chuckle. "I see that you are more accepting of the idea of celebrating your birthday? I thought you'd want to spend it with Ran and Gin-chan."

"They needed to talk about some things. I'm supposed to be getting myself to bed so that I don't get sick again, but Matsumoto said it was all right if I came to see you first." Toshiro opened up the bag and removed a couple of books that were sitting on top of a box and then removed the box. "I wanted to share some of my birthday cake with you."

"You are in a really good mood." Ukitake watched as the boy removed the slice of cake from the box.

"You'll need to return the plate and fork to the forth division. Matsumoto only brought enough plates for Ichimaru, herself and me." The boy placed the piece of cake in front of the man. "Particularly since I think she would prefer I get to bed as soon as possible."

The man carefully took the cake. "How are you feeling about finding out that Gin and Ran are your parents. You seem to be taking orders from her in regards to your health."

"Matsumoto's just saying what she needs to say more often and being firm about it when it comes to my health now that she knows she knows she can get away with it without getting slapped with a reprimand for ordering around her superior officer." Toshiro frowned. "At least I think that's what is going on. Though I have to say that I like the idea of not having to reprimand her for things like this, though division issues are still fair game."

"Have you actually thought about the fact you are ordering your mother around?" Ukitake rose an eyebrow.

The boy frowned. "I honestly haven't thought about it much. At this point I'm going to go with this being the way it has already been."

"So, are the books from Gin?"

Toshiro's face brightened up. "No... Ise helped Matsumoto pick them out. It's _Of Mice and Men_ , _The Great Gatsby_ and _The Grapes of Wrath_."

"I see your not yet calling Rangiku your mother."

The boy frowned again. "I have to get used to that just like she has to get used to calling me by my first name. What do you think about all of this?"

"Ahh... so we come to the alternative reason for you coming to see me." Ukitake found himself chuckling again.

"I don't see how that is an alternative reason for me coming to see you." Toshiro's scowl deepened. "Though an alternative reason for coming to see you is to thank you for being such a big help in all of this."

"Ahh... yes." The man shook his head in amusement before wiping the smirk for a more serious look. "To tell you the truth, I was rather worried about how this would turn out. It's turning out better then I thought it would."

"It still could turn out badly."

"Yes, it could." Ukitake continued to find the whole thing amusing. "I'm talking about how you seem to be handling the situation. You could have handled it much worse."

Toshiro frowned. "I can't hold anything against Matsumoto as she obviously doesn't remember. Ichimaru I think had his reasons for keeping us separate. I don't have the energy to be mad at him, nor do I want to stress out about it. I'm stressing out about Hinamori enough as it is."

"I guess the better question for me to ask is where you want your relationship and your parents relationship to go."

The boy frowned. "I want them to get married. Do you think they could get married by Christmas?"

The man's eyes suddenly widened. "Umm." He then let out a deep sigh. "I'm sorry, but an engagement is more likely then that and I also think that is going to be a hard push. Ran-chan and Gin-kun have a lot of things that they need to talk about not to mention figuring out what is best for you."

"I may be a child, but I'm also a captain of the Gotei Thirteen. I can deal with them arguing and I can deal with a lot of other things. What I can't handle is them acting like children about the matter."

"The thing is, your father and mother may not have feelings for each other that they want to be tied down to each other for the rest of their lives."

"Isn't it a bit late for that? They've got me don't they?"

Ukitake took a deep breath. "Yes, but that doesn't mean they would make for a good husband and wife for each other. You may end up with a second mother second father in the long run."

"I don't want that. I just found out that I have parents."

"How about you sleep on this and I'll stop by you division tomorrow to talk to you more about this. You look tired."


	25. Day Twenty One (Part 1)

Toshiro headed back to the division and changed into his sleepwear and fell quickly asleep. He found himself being shaken away by a set of small hands. The hands were far bigger then Yachiru's but weren't adult size. Letting out a deep sigh he opened his eyes and turned his head to look at the person who had come into his room. "Hinamori?" The boy startled and hurried to sit up. "What are you doing in my room?"

"Where were you yesterday Shiro-chan?"

"What do you mean where was I yesterday? Why is that important?" The boy shook his head.

"I stopped by the division and they said you were out all day." The female suddenly plopped a trey of food onto his bed. Toshiro noticed that there was a card on the trey. "I stopped by to drop off your birthday card. I also heard you'd been sick as well, so you really should be in bed resting."

"I'm fine." The small taicho could feel his throat tightening. " _She's the one who made me sick like I was."_

"Are you still mad about the other day?" The girl smiled at him. "It really wasn't that big of a deal, right."

Toshiro stared at her, irritated that she had just barged in on him. He was thinking about yelling for Matsumoto to come and get rid of her, but in truth his grandmother had ingrained into him politeness way to well. "I'm still mad at you. And what you did was a big deal."

"Shiro-chan. He's a monster!"

The boy found himself swallowing while glancing down at the trey of food. " _I can't deny the fact that he's a monster. I told her the other day that..._ " His eyes widened as he remembered what he had said to her that day. He found himself pushing his trey off his lap and swung his legs over the side of his bed. He could feel a hand clasp his mouth. " _... that I don't want to be a monster like him. I don't want to make the mistakes he did._ "

"Shiro-chan? Is something the matter?"

The boy carefully moved his hand away from his mouth and looked her right in the face. "I know he is a monster. But is that all you see?"

"There is nothing good about him." The female continued to smile at him. "So, where did you go yesterday Shiro-chan. I could give you your birthday present. I bet its better then anything he could ever give you."

Toshiro's eyes went wide as she pulled a small package out of her sleeve and set it on the bed. He could feel his chest tightening. " _Is all there is to Ichimaru being a monster? I'm just like him personality wise, am I not._ " The boy swallowed. "I went and visited Ichimaru."

"What's with that look on your face Shiro-chan? Did you think I would be mad at you for visiting him? You told him that enough was enough, right?" The girl continued to smile at him.

Toshiro felt the color leave his cheeks as his ears heat up. He turned his head away and looked at his bare feet. "Hinamori... is all there is to Ichimaru a monster."

"I told you, there is nothing good about him. There is not one good thing he's ever done in his life."

"What if Ichimaru had a child?" The boy felt his bottom lip quiver.

"It's a good thing that he never had a child. That child would have been ten times worse then he ever was." Momo spoke up. "Why are you asking me such..." The female suddenly raised one of her hands up to her cheek as her eyes widened from surprise from the fact he had slapped her with the back of his hand. "Shiro-chan? What was that for? Are you feeling all right?"

"No. I'm not." Toshiro felt himself unable to look her in the eye. He also felt a few hot tears escape from the corners of his eyes as he tried fighting back the feelings that were fighting to boil over.

"What ever is the matter?"

"You talk about Ichimaru as if you know everything, but you know nothing!"

"I know that..."

"You said that any child of his would be ten times worse."

"Of course they would be."

"Am I really ten times worse then him!" Toshiro could feel his body tremble and suddenly a coughing fit hit him.

"Shiro-chan!"

"Don't touch me!" The boy shook his head.

"You're not ten times worse then him. You're the exact opposite but also ten times better in the opposite direction."

"Is that really true or is this you being blind to the truth?" Toshiro finally looked her straight in the face and could see that she didn't even have a confused look on her face.

"I'm rather aware of the truth. I just told you what it is. I think you're the one who is confused Shiro-chan." The boy felt another coughing fit hit him. He could sense Hinamori trying to reach out to comfort him and he pushed the trey of food onto the ground in anger. "Shiro-chan! What has gotten into you!" The female went down on her knees and began to pick up the items. "Look, your card is ruined."

"Get your fucking head out of the clouds Momo!" Toshiro could feel the tears streaming down his cheeks. "You say you're aware of the truth but you are blind! Ichimaru Gin is my biological father!"

The female paused at what she was doing and looked up at him smiling. "Shiro-chan? Do you need to see Unohana to straighten you out. Gin's lying to you. You and I both know you died and came to Soul Society. He's being really cruel you know."

The boy found his throat choking up. "Get out! Get out of my room!"

"Shiro-chan!" Momo stood up and he suddenly felt her hand hit him hard across the cheek. "Knock it off!"

Toshiro found himself closing his eyes. " _I need Matsumoto. I need my mother. I can't deal with her anymore. There is no reasoning with her._ "

" _Call out for her little one._ "

Despite the fact he could hear movement in the room next door he found himself speaking up. "Ka-chan!"

"Shiro-chan, what are you..."

"Ka-chan!" Toshiro suddenly felt a coughing fit come in.

"You don't have a mother, why are you..."

"Leave." The small boy had collapsed to his side and was still coughing slightly, but his eyes opened slightly to see that Rangiku had come and was standing with her arms crossed.

"Ran-chan..." The corner of Momo's mouth twitched.

"Don't Ran-chan me. You and I will speak about this later. Now get out before I tan your hide."

The small female stood up. "I'll leave. But you should know that Ichimaru is lying to..."

"Leave!"

The small female began to tremble before running out of the room. Rangiku then came over and Toshiro found himself lifted up gently. "You're supposed to be lying in the exact opposite direction when you sleep."

He could feel himself in her arms and for once she wasn't trying to suffocate him. He then found himself suddenly sobbing and coughing uncontrollably. His entire body was trembling. Her hand reached up and touched his forehead. "Your fever's worse then the last time. I wonder if its just stress sickness or if you've come down with something nasty."

"I was feeling fine both times." Toshiro breathed through the coughing fit.

"What did she say to you though that got you worked up like this?" Rangiku snuggled him closer and rubbed his back.

"She said any child of Ichimaru's would be ten times worse then him." He took a deep breath. "She said that before I told her. I didn't want to tell her but... and it doesn't matter anyways as she doesn't believe me."

"I should be saying something comforting about now as your mother, but you and your father are a lot like each other." The woman took a deep breath. "To be honest, I wouldn't want that to change. You may have your flaws, but you are a good person and you can learn from his mistakes and you've got a lot of advantages he doesn't."

"The paper work..."

Rangiku paused. "I don't want to leave you, but I'll get someone to come in and sit with you while I get the paperwork done. No more stressing you out by not doing my job. Hinamori's been doing enough of that lately. I've also got a woman's society meeting. I'll talk to her then and set her straight." There was a pause. "Taicho... if she starts doing that to you again leave and walk away. I know its rude to do, but if I'm not here or someone else isn't get away from her. At least until she's better."


	26. Day Twenty One (Part 2)

"I'll leave. But you should know that Ichimaru is lying to..." Hinamori found her words interupted and a rather livid Rangiku turning with a look of murder in her eyes.

"Leave!" The woman snapped the command out again and the small female hurried out of the room, her eyes watering from the sting of having the woman lecture her.

After she got a bit away she found herself wiping tears from her eyes. "Rangiku doesn't understand. That man is only going to hurt Shiro-chan with those lies he's telling him."

She walked along with her arms wrapped around her chest until she got to her division. She tried speaking about it to someone at her division only to find that the members would try and move away whenever she mentioned the man. Thus her ranting and raving wasn't quelled by the time she got to the woman's society. The first person she saw was Rukia reading a book at one of the tables.

"I can't believe Ichimaru Gin!"

Rukia glanced up at that point, frowning as she did so. "Hinamori... I really don't want to talk about that man. He rather makes me uncomfortable."

"But he's tricking Shiro-chan in such a cruel manner!"

"What do you mean by this?" The small female set down her book.

"He told Shiro-chan that he's his biological father."

The small noble felt her eyes suddenly widen from shock. "Ichimaru Gin is Hitsugaya Taicho's father?"

"No! He lied to Shiro-chan and now Shiro-chan believes that he is his father."

"They are a lot alike."

"They are not!"

"Fine. What do you want me to do about this?"

"You could talk to your captain and get him to set things straight. Ukitake's always been really good about convincing Toshiro about things."

"Tell our taicho about what?" The two females glanced up to see Isane and Kiyone coming through the door.

"Ichimaru Gin's being mean to Shiro-chan!"

"Ahh..." Isane found herself shaking her head at the female.

"Hinamori thinks that Ichimaru Gin is lying to Hitsugaya Taicho about being his father."

"That would explain the weird conversation I overhead yesterday. I only heard snatches of it." Kiyone placed a hand on her chin.

"You mean to tell me that Ukitake Taicho's already tried convincing him and failed?"

"About that..." Isane tried speaking up again.

"Who did Ukitake Taicho try to convince of what?" Soifon came into the room and frowned.

"Apparently Hitsugaya Taicho is convinced that Ichimaru Gin is his father." Kiyone blurted out.

"What the fuck?" The small female went and sat down. "I'm guessing Ichimaru Gin did something to convince him? I knew the man was a psychological bastard, but really... this really takes the cake."

"Yes... but..." The tallest female found herself drowned out.

"I mean, I heard that Hitsugaya Taicho has been ill, but I didn't realize that Ichimaru was using it to his advantage to convince him of something like him being his father."

"You've heard?" Nanao came through the door. "How?"

"Ichimaru lied to Shiro-chan and now..."

"Stop right there." The female pushed up her glasses. "Why are you all assuming that Ichimaru Gin lied?"

The eighth division fukutaicho watched as everyone turned to look at Momo. Soifon however turned to her. "Come on Nanao. Matsumoto Rangiku would have known if she had a kid. Unless of course your implying that Gin had a child without her knowing."

"There is such thing as amnesia." Isane twiddled her thumbs. "Unohana, myself and the head captain have known since before the start of December that this was true."

"It can't be. There isn't any proof." Momo found herself trembling.

"There is. I've seen it." Nanao turned to look at the small female.

"So... boobies and smiles sitting in a tree, K.I.S.S.I.N.G. First comes love, the comes marriage, then comes baby in the baby carriage!"

"When did Yachiru get here?" Soifon frowned at the small female.

Rukia shook her head. "And now the whole thing is going to spread like wildfire because she knows."

Kiyone frowned. "Isn't it reversed though. First came the baby, then comes marriage and then love. Wait... does this mean that they had a kid _despite_ not loving each other?"

"I..."

"What's going on?" Rangiku came into the room.

Nanao let out a deep sigh. "When did Hinamori find out about your family situation?"

"This morning. I need to talk to you privately about what you did this morning Hinamori."

"I don't see why you can't talk to me right here. I didn't do anything wrong."

The temperature in the room suddenly increased as Rangiku's reiatsu flared out and Nanao placed a hand on her arm to calm her down. Isane let out a deep sigh. "Well, we now know where Hitsugaya Taicho gets his ability to adjust the temperature in the room from."

"Like mother, like son." Kiyone laughed.

"The situation isn't funny." Soifon folded her arms across her chest. "I'd take up Rangiku's offer of talking privately. She's obviously upset with you about something and you might not want us to know what you did."

"But I didn't do anything wrong. How was I to tell that Shiro-chan told me the truth. And how do you actually know there is truth. There is no proof."

"I've seen it. Rangiku's seen it as well as Hitsugaya Taicho." Nanao folded her arms.

"And this has nothing to do with you not believing taicho when he told you. This has to do with that you told him right before he told you that. What you said was down right cruel."

"I'm not sure what you're talking about..."

"What kind of proof?" Rukia piped up.

"Gin apparently took pictures of taicho when he was an infant and a toddler. There are pictures of him in Soul Society with Gin and his grandmother." Rangiku piped up.

Kiyone's fists suddenly went to her chest. "Baby pictures of Hitsugaya Taicho! I _have_ to see those."

"They can't be as cute as lady Yourichi."

"And you very well know what I'm talking about Hinamori." When the woman saw that the girl just looked at the ground. "Taicho asked you what you thought a child of Ichimaru Gin's would be like and you told him that child would be ten times the monster Gin was."

"Yay! Aniki's a monster like Ken-chan!" Yachiru suddenly piped up with a huge smile on her face.

"Well... Hitsugaya Taicho _is_ ten times the monster that Ichimaru Gin is..."

"Kiyone..." Isane shook her head at her younger sister.

"...but he's not the kind of monster you're afraid is under your bed at night. He's that cute little fluffy monster that's just... cute but annoying at the same time."

"Oh dear..." Nanao frowned.

"I'm sorry I said that." Momo glanced at the ground.

"Except that hasn't been the only problem. You've been down right cruel to him every time you showed up at the office this month. So, until you get your act together..." Rangiku glared at the female. "... I don't want you anywhere near him."

"But Shiro-chan and I grew up with each other."

"You haven't treated him like family ever since he entered the academy and graduated the same year as you did. Sure, you saw him as your little brother, but the truth of the matter is you haven't once payed attention to his feelings on anything. And it may very well have started before he joined the academy. I want you to think about that."

Momo glanced at the ground, before slipping out of the room. Rukia then crossed her arms. "When Hinamori came in and told me about Ichimaru being Hitsugaya's tousan I thought about how similar they are. Except... I don't get the feeling of being chocked by a snake when I am around him."

Isane sighed. "No wonder he's a child prodigy like he is. On top of having a child prodigy for a father both of his parents have a high level of reiatsu that in some manner effects the person."

Nanao turned to look at a now empty chair that had a bowl of crumbs in front of it. "Did anyone see when the chairwoman left?"


	27. Day Twenty One (Part 3)

A hiccup came from deep in Hinamori's chest as she walked along the street. Her small arms were wrapped around her chest as she continued back to her division. Someone called her name and she turned towards the person and wiped a few tears away. The three people staring at her were her peers from academy days. The one who had spoken to her was Kira.

"Momo, what ever is the matter?" The blond gave her a rather worried look.

"Oh... its kind of complicated." The small female glanced at the ground.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Shuhei smiled at her. "We could go somewhere to eat lunch so we can all talk about it."

"I'd really appreciate that, but I get the feeling you three will be upset with me as well. That..."

"Momo..." Renji crossed his arms across his chest. "You won't know that for sure until you tell us what is going on."

The red headed Shinigami lightly touched her shoulder before leading her to a place to eat. The food was placed in front of her, but she found herself not wanting to eat anything. Kira took a drink of his glass of sake. "So, what's going on?"

"I found out that Ichimaru Gin is Shiro-chan's father." Momo glanced at the table while the three males simply stared at her.

Renji then burst out laughing and fell over backwards. "This is the funniest joke I've ever heard. Someone's really played a bad prank on you!"

"It's not a joke. Rangiku, Nanao and Isane-san all three confirmed its true at the Woman's Society meeting." She heard a clicking sound and suddenly glanced up to see Hisagi leaning on his elbows on ruffling his hair in frustration. "What ever is the matter?"

"He's got a rather bad crush on Matsumoto-san is all." Kira let out a deep sigh.

"Oh... sorry. I seem to keep messing up today. If need be, I'll leave."

"Momo, you don't have to leave. Shuhei would have ended up like this once he heard the news. What exactly did you do that apparently has everyone upset with you?" Renji glared at the moody Shinigami as he sipped his sake.

"It's Rangiku-san whose mad at me. She told me she doesn't want me near Shiro-chan." The female glanced back and the ground.

"Momo, that's probably just until you get your act together. You kind of haven't been... well, you haven't been treating Hitsugaya Taicho with a lot of respect." Kira felt the corner of his mouth twitch.

"She said something along those lines." Momo felt a few tears fall onto the her hands that were in her lap. "Yet I don't know what I've done wrong. I know I really upset Shiro-chan this morning, but I really didn't mean it."

Hisagi looked up. After a couple of minutes of watching her he placed his hands in his lap. "A lot of us know that you didn't mean to mistreat Hitsugaya Taicho the way you have. Your behavior got way worse though after the winter war and changed from simply ignoring him to pretty much using him as your punching bag for your hurt feelings."

"I still don't know what I've done wrong, but I do understand that my behavior was hurtful." Momo wiped some of the tears from her eyes.

"Let's start with the fact you always talked about Aizen." Renji spoke up.

"Renji... I don't think..."

"Momo's now open to hearing the truth. If nobody tells her she'll keep making the same mistakes." The red head sighed as he scratched his head. "Anyways, whenever you were around Hitsugaya all you did was talk about Aizen. He's not one to talk about his problems I know, but it was rather obvious he wasn't comfortable with all the gibberish you gushed about the man."

"I guess that explains why he was always spitting watermelon seeds at me when I went home from the academy. He never did that before. I guess Rangiku was right in saying that I tended to ignore his feelings."

"It wasn't just his feelings you've ignored." Hisagi to a large gulp of his sake before filling it up again. "Let me ask you something. How tall is Hitsugaya compared to you?"

"Ahh... he comes to my shoulder." Momo's face brightened.

Kira suddenly coughed as some of his sake went down the wrong tube. "Momo... Hitsugaya Taicho is only a half head shorter then you now."

The female's eyes widened. "No way... how could..." She then glanced at the table. "I can't believe I missed such a thing."

"You can't treat him like a little kid anymore. Sure, there are times that he _does_ need to be treated like one because of his physical age, but your brat of a brother is a child genius who thinks on the same level as an adult about a lot of things. It's one of the things that makes him so annoying, though him being a captain isn't a bad thing."

The corner of Hisagi's mouth turned up. "Really? That sounds like a contradictory statement there."

"Who likes being out done by a kid?" Renji swirled his drink around. "Your treating him like a little kid honestly hasn't helped his complex about being treated like a kid. It's to the point we get chewed out by him if we suggest he try and enjoy himself. It hasn't helped his height complex or his... I believe Rangiku called it a persecution complex."

Kira leaned forward. "Hitsugaya Taicho does have a lot of complexes doesn't he? How come he ends up living a normal life where he isn't stressed out."

"He doesn't." Momo spoke up as she glanced at the ground. "None of you've seen him mentally break down like I have. Before today I thought he was just being childish because he couldn't have his way. I haven't seen him like that since he lost his taicho."

"Like what? Is something wrong with Hitsugaya Taicho?" Renji shook his head. "The kids tough, he'll bounce back."

"Will he? I thought the reason he got physically ill like he did awhile back was because Ichimaru upset him, but I honestly think Shiro-chan can't take being around me anymore."

"Momo... you're his sister. The two of you need to just sort things out." Hisagi shook his head.

"Wait... what is this about Hitsugaya Taicho being physically ill?" Kira suddenly glanced up.

"He kind of... whenever he got upset and lost it, its always been to the point he's gotten physically ill. I guess its been that way since he was little, but I always thought he was getting ill because little kids get sick all the time. That said, I really messed up with him this morning.

"So... what did you do?"

"I tried telling him that Ichimaru was lying to him about being his father, but it isn't just that. I don't think Shiro-chan actually trusted me enough to tell me that man was his father in the first place, but I said something really stupid when he asked me a question about what I thought any child of Ichimaru's would be like. I told him that the child would be ten times worse then that man."

"Ouch..." Renji took another drink.

"Yeah... in hind sight I should have been more careful about what I said. That's when he told me about his relationship with Ichimaru and I made things even more worse." Momo glanced at the edge of the table. "I don't blame him if he doesn't ever forgive me for calling him a monster."

"Momo... I don't think that's what he's upset about." Hisagi watched as she looked up at him with a startled look. "Hitsugaya Taicho's always wanted you to accept him for who he is. He thinks that you actually think he's a monster."

"Personally, I think its both." Renji spoke with food in his mouth. "Hitsugaya's got as his own mother pointed out a persecution complex. Just let him know that you don't hate him."

"I kind of... Matsumoto's banned me from getting near him."

"Then prove to her you can get near him, that you've grown up a bit." Hisagi sighed. "Rangiku _had_ to turn out to be his mother... now I can't deny there was something more going on."

"I don't get the last part you muttered about, but I've got the problem of Ran-chan not wanting me near him and I don't want to forgive that man."

"Work on making it clear to her that you've matured and she'll lift the ban. Don't worry about forgiving my former taicho either. Goodness knows I haven't."


	28. Day Twenty One (Part 4)

The fukutaicho quarters back at the fifth division were silent. Momo closed the door and leaned against the door taking a deep breath. " _Why does it feel so lonely despite the fact I was just with friends? I mean, come on!_ "

A few more hot tears streamed down her cheeks. " _Eventually you're going to need to face that man and your fear of him._ "

" _What ever for?_ "

" _I think you know as well as I that despite the fact you don't like the idea of Shiro-chan being in a family unit with that man you can't deny the fact making him choose between you or them is going to be wrong. If you try such a move, your relationship with him will never mend even if you do change your behavior._ "

" _What ever for?_ "

" _At this point in time neither one of you are a safe bet, but Matsumoto Rangiku is. Shiro-chan will side with his mother and she will side with the side that she feels will protect him. If you try to push Ichimaru away at this point without any justification you'll only succeed in upsetting him again and that will be enough for her to make the final decision of you no longer being in his life. You don't want that, do you?_ "

" _No, I don't. What is the first thing I need to do to get back in Shiro-chan's graces?_ "

" _Apologize. However, he's not the only person you need to apologize too..._ "

" _I can't ever forgive that man._ "

" _This isn't about forgiving him._ "

" _But I do have to forgive him to apologize for my own behavior._ "

" _Well, I was talking about asking Rangiku for forgiveness there, but no... you don't need to forgive him to apologize for the things that you have done. You just have to admit that you did something wrong. But what did you do that warrants you asking him for forgiveness._ "

" _I blamed him for Shiro-chan getting sick when it was my fault. I can't really apologize to Shiro-chan or Rangiku-san until I apologize for that mistake because it feels wrong trying to fix things with them when I haven't fixed that._ "

Momo opened the door to her quarters up and headed to the forth division. She headed back to the room she knew Ichimaru was in, only to find that he was missing. As she turned to leave with a rather puzzled look on her face, Isane came by. "If you are looking for Ichimaru, he went with Hanataro to take care of Hitsugaya Taicho. But I don't think it wise that you go near Hitsugaya Taicho just yet. His panic attacks can be very bad and he doesn't need another shock."

"I know... I just need to talk to Ichimaru for a bit."

Letting out a deep sigh the female headed rather reluctantly to the tenth division and headed to the captains quarters. " _How exactly am I going to be able to speak with Ichimaru?_ "

"Hinamori?" The small female looked up to see the taicho of the thirteen division staring at her. "Hitsugaya... well, it wouldn't be a good idea for him to see you as he's still rather off."

"I just want to speak with Ichimaru."

"I'm not sure if that is a good idea. If the two of you cause a disturbance outside of Hitsugaya's room, then it could cause problems. I doubt Gin's going to leave that child's side."

"I'm not here to argue with him, or tell him to get away from Shiro-chan despite the fact I honestly don't like him or the fact he's near my little brother." Momo glanced at the ground. "I kind of need to apologize about something."

The man stared at her for a few minutes. "I am not sure if this is the best idea letting you speak with him, but if you really are just going to prologize then I think it would be best for everyone that you speak with Gin as soon as possible. Follow me."

"Where were you heading?" Momo spoke up, frowning as she did so?"

"I was heading back to the tenth division offices to see if I could get some of the paperwork done for them as its probably going to be stressful the next few days. I want to cut down on the stress as much as possible." The two arrived at the division and Ukitake stepped into the room. "Gin-kun... someone is here to speak with you."

"Just have them come in."

"No... actually, you should go and speak with them outside the room. Hanataro and I will stay with him."

There came a deep sigh from the silver haired man and he appeared at the doorway ruffling his hair. He had taken the time to throw on a uniform, only to have said uniform look as messy as his hair currently was. "You... what do you want."

"I... uhh... I..."

Gin turned to leave. "If you have nothing to say."

"Wait... I want to talk." Momo glanced at the ground. "You're..."

The door clicked shut and she thought she had lost her chance. However, the man spoke up. "I got it. You're afraid of me. You have the right to be. What is it that you want to talk about?"

"I'm not going to forgive you." The female blurted out. She then raised her head up and waved her hands. "That's not how I wanted to say it! I mean that I'm not going to try to keep you away from Shiro-chan, but I'm not going to forgive you and if you manage to hurt him that I won't... I won't..."

"Won't be able to do anything in repercussion because you would wet yourself if you even tried." The man let out a deep sigh. "Seriously... what happened to the girl that attacked me when she thought I'd killed her captain?" Gin looked at her. "Oh wait... you were in blind rages both times. Don't worry, you're really good at going into a blind rage."

"That isn't funny!" Momo felt her cheeks flush up. "I mean what I say that I won't... I won't..."

"Got it. If that is all..."

"No, it isn't! I want to apologize for blaming you for Shiro-chan getting sick when it was really my fault."

Gin paused and leaned against the wall and covered his hands with his eyes. "Why the hell are you apologizing to me?"

"I... because..."

"I don't even like you, so it is no skin off my back if you wrong me. You do realize that. I couldn't care if you died." Gin's rieatsu flared out. "I don't like the way you treat Shiro-chan, never had. If ordered I would kill you on the spot and the only regret I would have would be that Shiro-chan would be upset that you were dead. Though I wonder if he'll feel that way now."

"You're cruel. How can anyone take someone's apology and turn it around and pretty much spit on it like you have!" Momo glanced at the ground and felt her body tremble. Her hands were at her side and the knuckled turned white.

"You still didn't answer my question. Why did ya think to apologize to me?"

"Because I can't begin to make up for what I've done wrong until I ask for those I've wronged to forgive me. I can't... well, I did do wrong by you."

Gin let out a deep sigh and she saw his foot suddenly appear as he stepped closer and she found her body freezing up. A hand came out to ruffle the top of her head and she flinched out of fear that he would hurt her. Her eyes opened back up, surprised to find the touch to actually be gentle. "Seems like ya've grown up a bit. You still shouldn't apologize to the likes of me. I'd say all is forgiven, but I don't deserve to forgive anyone, so don't worry about it."

The man then pulled away. "When do you plan on apologizing to Shiro-chan?"

Momo glanced up to see that he was leaning against the wall. "I can't... I mean..."

"You just had the guts to ask me of all people for forgiveness. Why can't ya?"

"Ran-chan said... she said I'm forbidden to go near Shiro-chan without her permission."

Gin let out a deep sigh. "Don't worry about what she said either. While you should give him a couple of days to recover, you have _my_ permission to come back and apologize as soon as the time is right."

Momo shivered as she started at him. " _His behavior... its creepy. How can he be so nice and cruel at the same time? It's sickening._ " She then closed her eyes shut tightly. "Even so, I won't ever forgive you and I'll always hate you!"

"Hai, hai. Not so loud. I don't deserve forgiveness anyways, so again... don't worry about it." The small female heard the door click again and then found herself hurrying back to her division to hide under her covers.


	29. Day Twenty One (Part 5)

“ _How does one go about being family?_ ” The thought rattled around in Toshiro’s feverish brain, his head resting on what should have been a cool pillow which alleviated the suffering he felt. One arm pulled under his head, his teal eyes now glued on the wall while he breathed slowly so he might not have a coughing fit; his tongue felt dry from the fever as well.

“ _Taicho… if she starts doing that to you again leave and walk away. I know its rude to do, but if I’m not here or someone else isn’t get away from her. At least until she’s better._ ”

Letting out a sigh, he turned onto his back while his eyes remained glued on the ceiling, the corners of his mouth curling while his mind continuing taking in what occurred over the last few weeks. His hands rested at either side, his mind attempting to take in how he felt. “ _How can I really know how I feel when Momo made me feel so wrong for thinking about anything related to…_ ”

“ _She wasn’t right._ ” Hyorinmaru’s voice echoed through his mind

“ _I wasn’t thinking she is._ ” Toshiro’s eyes slowly opened and closed, a sigh escaping. “ _How do I really feel about them being my parents? Is it okay wanting my mother – calling her my mother, as if I were some tyke in need of comforting?_ ”

“ _If only there was someone your physical age to ask._ ”

Toshiro’s eyes opened and closed, not quite understanding what his zampaktuo was getting at. “ _I don’t follow._ ”

“ _Your mind is feverish._ ”

“ _Don’t avoid telling me whatever it is._ ”

“ _Normally you’d get mad at the idea of anybody treating you like a child._ ”

“ _Don’t have the energy._ ”

“ _But isn’t that what you’re worried about without realizing it, in a way? Aren’t you worried about at least acting your age and not a bit younger? You’re so used to acting an age far above your own physical age you don’t actually know what you should do when you’re meant to act your age. After all, they are your parents, so there are certain situations now where they are the ones to act like an adult and you are free to act your age._ ”

“ _That…_ ” Toshiro let out a sigh, sitting up while his dragon lectured him about getting out of bed. He rubbed his neck slightly in an attempt to get out the stiffness. “ _I’m thirsty. And – Rangiku insists that I rest and let her worry about the paperwork. She didn’t say I have to do that here._ ”

Of course, saying that didn’t prevent him from slipping on the uniform, his mind not liking the idea of heading out in his sleepwear. Changing out of the clothing also felt good, given the fact he sweated quite a lot as he slept. He headed straight for the bathroom and splashed water in his face before cupping some water in his hand and drinking his full.

He then headed towards the office, completely expecting a lecture from Rangiku when he arrived. He stopped in the doorway, his eyes focusing in on her empty desk before glancing over at his. Toshiro’s mouth opened, wondering if she really did indeed do the paperwork as she promised. “ _It’s okay if she didn’t because that is who she is. It would be weirder…_ ”

Walking softly, he approached her desk, his bright teal eyes taking in the stack of finished papers on her desk before looking right over at his and seeing no paperwork what-so-ever. His mouth opened, wondering if the number of papers in the outbox actually consisted of all the papers Rangiku worked on before walking over towards the couch, peering underneath just in case.

Taking a deep breath, he sat down, the silence of the office bothering him, his mind wondering what Rangiku was up to. “ _I feel so needy. I’m a taicho of the Gotei Thirteen, so me…_ ” Letting out a deep breath, he flopped onto his back. “ _This isn’t going to work out. I mean, how does one go about being family when they never acted that way before?_ ”

His arms folded behind his head and he found himself nodding off, half-asleep so he heard the snoring coming from his throat yet feeling so much better sleeping there than in his bedroom, or at least he did until he felt something pounce on his chest and he let out a gasp, a few coughs escaping from his lungs. “I heard something very interesting today!”

Toshiro’s eyes opened, one hand rubbing the heavy sleep from his eyes.

Sitting on his stomach was a fiendishly pink monster – or at least a monster with fiendishly pink hair on the top of her head. He set his pen down, wondering what the Fukutaicho of the eleventh division was doing perched on his stomach. His mouth twisted slightly, then said, “What do you want Kusajishi?”

“Is it true that Smiles is Snowball’s daddy?”

“What?” He found himself staring at the young girl, wondering how such information got out given the fact he’d said nothing, but he felt sure everyone who knew – a sigh escaped his mouth, remembering how he’d figured out his Secret Santa; he knew exactly who let the fiendish monster in front of him know.

He also saw her mouth twist into a pout. “What do you mean what?” She slapped her hand down onto the top of the desk. “Boobie-chan said it was true! So did Nana!”

Toshiro swallowed. “Where exactly did you learn this?”

“The Shinigami Woman’s Society of course!”

He swallowed. “I still don’t know what you want.”

“Nothing!”

She became a blur in front of him, making him wonder who all would _know_ by the end of the day. In the back of his mind, he already imagined division members whispering about how he was Ichimaru Gin’s son, comparing him to the man. “I’m not him.”

“ _I’m sure everyone knows that._ ”

Toshiro let his tongue click against his teeth, taking in the words of his zanpakutuo spirit’s words, deciding to converse in his head rather than where the division might hear only half of the conversation. “ _Do they?_ ”

“ _Those who matter will know._ ”

“ _By that you mean those who are close to me rather, yet not those under me who I need the respect of._ ”

“ _Most know._ ”

“ _It’s not that simple. Not that simple at all._ ”

“Taicho!”

Toshiro’s eyes blinked, realizing he was now sitting up on the couch. “Matsumoto?”

“You’re supposed to be resting.”

“You’re…” He glanced over at her desk, his mouth pushing together slightly. In the back of his mind, he didn’t want to accuse her of not being where she should be when she did indeed keep her promise.

“Taicho…” Matsumoto let out a sigh.

“Are you going to play the mom card?”

“No. Not when we’ve not yet set boundaries of what’s okay, given the fact…” Matsumoto took a deep breath. “What are you doing out of bed?”

“I was trying to sleep on the couch for a change of pace when Kusajishi…” His eyes opened and closed. “Were you at the Woman’s Society?”

“Yes.” Rangiku sounded a little worried.

“Oh. I didn’t know where you’d gone.

“She, what did she want?”

Toshiro swallowed. “She said nothing, but…”

“But?”

“She was excited about learning something interesting today.”

“Oh, dear.” Rangiku took a deep breath. “That certainly didn’t go the way I wanted.”

“Me neither.”


End file.
